A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed
by sonikkugirl8
Summary: Tails becomes obsessed with figuring out the plans of an old foe, and refuses to tell anyone else about it in hopes of keeping them out of the problem. But when Sonic is put in danger because of this secret, will Tails eventually have to fess up to help his friends out? Told in the perspective of both Sonic and Tails and the team's origin. Rated T for mild language and violence.
1. A Not-So-Good Night

Chapter 1- A Not-So-Good Night

 _The city streets were very calm that night. Too calm. So calm it sent a shiver down my spine._

I know it's been a little while since I've come to Future City, but I didn't know it'd turn out to be THIS creepy.

 _The last time I came here, Future City was running rampant with crime. I had to abandon my home while my best friend had the pleasure of cleaning things up. Looking around, it seemed he did TOO good a job. Maybe it was just my insecurities talking, but still. This is a big city. Day or night, it was always filled to the brim with citizens. I looked around, but I saw no one. Just a loose piece of paper flowing in the wind._

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to come back here for robot parts at night…

 _I eventually decided to suck it up and keep going. I was just letting myself get lost in my own fears for no reason. Nothing would attack, it's like 12 in the morning in the pouring rain. Right…?_

 _I was dead wrong. Behind me I heard snickers, two to be exact. They sounded almost evil and detached from reality. I turned around and there I was. Two of the ugliest looking thugs I've ever had the 'pleasure' of seeing with my own eyes. And I've seen Eggman without his beauty rest. I tried to fly away, but the bigger one grabbed one of my tails before I had the chance. "Where do ya think YOU'RE goin'?" he said, with the outright DUMBEST voice imaginable. Picture Big the Cat if he got his brain lobotomized. The smaller one then walked up to me with a knife._ I swear, if you lay a point of that knife of me I will- _my thoughts were interrupted when I looked and found the thing on my neck._

" _What the-?"_

" _Now, now, little guy. We can do this the easy way or the hard way… Give us your Rings before I slash your throat."_

" _I-I…"_

" _Cat got your tongue, fox boy? Allow me to fix that."_

 _I closed my eyes tight, but a few minutes later, I noticed nothing happened. I didn't feel any pain, like nothing had happened._

That's odd…

 _I decided to open my eyes, and was in for quite a surprise. Both of my assailants were knocked out. I heard sirens in the distance, signifying someone had probably called the police on these two chumps. The biggest surprise of all? The person I saw next to them. The one that probably knocked them out. I recognized him immediately. The straight and proud stature, the cocky, yet somehow friendly smile, the attitude seemingly oozing out of him._

Of course it was you, ya blue son of a gun.

* * *

"Tails, It's 4 am. I have been up with you and Shadow for three days straight, can I PLEASE go to bed now?"

"No, Sonic, I need you to stay with me just a LITTLE longer."

"You've been saying that for the past six hours and you don't even look half done!"

Sonic was not in the best of moods tonight. For three days I had forced him and Shadow to hang back with me in my lab just so that I had somebody to talk to. Shadow had already passed out, but I wouldn't let Sonic go cause I know he won't come back. Although by the exhausted look on his face from staying awake all this time, he won't get far. I feel so sorry for him, being cooped up in here, not having a chance to unwind with one of his runs; it was the definition of torture for him. It's even the poor guy's day to patrol the city in a few hours time.

 _I'm the worst friend ever aren't I?_

"Uh, hello? Earth to Tails! I asked you a question!" The irritation in his voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, Sonic. You were saying?" My acknowledgement makes him look less peeved.

"I said I wanted to know what you were doing. You haven't told us, ya know."

"I… can't tell you. It's a secret." I REALLY didn't like keeping things from my friends, especially my best friend. I have no choice in the matter this time, however. I don't want anyone to know what I'm doing.

 _Please don't try to dig, please don't try to dig…_

"Whatever... " He says, sighing ever so slightly.

 _Thank Chaos…_

I look back and see he's on the verge of dozing off. His eyelids look terribly heavy and he's leaning his head on his shoulder. He looks so vulnerable when he's asleep that it makes me feel MORE guilty. The moment he closes his eyes starts breathing deeply, I know I can't keep him here. I scoop him up in my arms and carry him back to his room. Hopefully three hours of sleep before the morning will be enough for him to get through the day.

 _He patrolled just fine in a similar situation. He'll be okay._

After putting Sonic in bed, I decided to go ahead and do the same with Shadow. Being Shadow though, I didn't get a chance.

"Touch me and I'll shoot your hand off…" Shadow says in his sleep. Not wanting to challenge him I obey his warning. Eventually I accidentally nod off myself.

 _Maybe tomorrow, I'm be able to figure his plan out…_


	2. Sonic's Having a Bad Day

**Chapter 2- Sonic's Having a Bad Day**

"Sonic, are you up yet, it's morning!"

 _Amy, please, not today…_

Why me? Just WHY?! I barely got even one hour of sleep in because not only was it extremely cold in my room because Amy left my window open to air-dry one of her dresses in MY room, but also because Knuckles was blasting his theme from Aquatic Mine all night like an insensitive moron! Sorry if I sound a little crabby, but me minus sleep is not a good combination. It both puts me in a sour mood and messes up my super speed!

 _Calm down, Sonic, don't explode at the audience, you'll scare them away…_

I walk out of the doorway and there stands Amy, seeming unnaturally chipper today. I try to be as nice as I can to her, what with how bad a mood I'm in. I put on sort of believable smile.

"Morning Ames…" Looks like I fail in the energy department.

"Are you okay, baby? You look exhausted."

"Nah…, I'm fi…" I can't help but yawn mid-sentence. "...fine…"

"Maybe you should go back to sleep and let someone take over your shift today." She pats me on the shoulder while telling me this, as if she's trying to make me feel better.

"Ames, it's okay, I can-"

Suddenly, Knuckles comes barreling into the hallway. The speed he's going is alarming enough to even make ME jump. He puts his arm around my shoulder and looks at me with bright eyes.

"Maybe I can take over the shift today, maybe, maybe, huh Sonic HUH?!"

Knuckles hasn't been doing the patrol shifts for about two months now, and he knows why I won't let him. But everyday like clockwork there he is at my door, sometimes even watching me until I wake up. He has FAR too much energy for my taste today in particular. Being team leader is so hard sometimes.

 _Chaos, did you down a whole bottle of freaking Red Bull?!_

I look at him with a straight face and simply tell him "No."

"Aw, but Sonic-"

"Last time I let you take over my shift, you got distracted by the Chaotix and let Eggman blow up a bank."

Knuckles pauses for a while before it finally dawns on him again. "Stupid Charmy… but I've learned my lesson, I'm ready to-" An explosion from outside interrupts him, also filling me full of adrenaline and putting me in full-on leader mode.

"We can talk about this later, Knux, we gotta go! Amy, go wake up Shadow and meet me and Knuckles outside."

"Right!" Amy replies as she dashes off to Shadow's room. Meanwhile Knuckles and I rush outside to find Egghead up to his old tricks again. And, oh joy, he brought Metal Sonic with him.

 _This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?_ I think to myself sarcastically.

"Well look who finally decided to show up!" Eggman calls out to us through his Egg Breaker's loud speaker. Let's just hope he doesn't think that more is merrier this time around.

"Look, Eggman, I'm not in the mood to play around today. Let me just break your little toys and get this over with so I can curl up back into bed."

"Does this mean I can-"

I sigh, "Yes, Knuckles, you can."

"Yus!"

"So, you wanna take a nap huh? I can help with that… METAL, ATTACK!"

"Yes, doctor…" Metal Sonic rushes at me at blinding speeds, but I just let him come. A split second before impact I dodge, making Metal ram into a wall.

 _I still got it._ I chuckle to myself.

"Come on, slowpoke, that all you got?! Or are you gonna try harder?"

Metal shakes himself off and comes flying at me again.

"The same attack TWICE? You've gotta be kidding me." I dodge the attack again. "You're slipping, Metal!" I stick my tongue out at him and waggle my finger to taunt him, but I don't notice Eggman coming up behind me. All the sudden I feel a sharp jab prick my back.

"OW!" I cry out. I look back and find a syringe injecting something into me. Then I notice Knuckles on the phone with Vector. This makes me absolutely livid. "Knuckles, a little help here?!"

"I'm talking to someone here! Yeah, yeah, I'm still here, keep going Vec."

"Some teammate HE is." Eggman taunts.

I take a deep breath to try to calm myself down, but then I realize my chest is becoming very heavy. It's getting very hard to breathe. In fact, it's not just my chest. Everything seems to feel like it's filling up with lead. All but my head, which seems to be filling with helium it feels so light and airy.

"Wh-What… what did you… did you put in me…?"

"Aw, now why spoil the surprise?"

"Sur… prise...?"

"Yep…"

 _It's a tranquilizer. It has to be a tranquilizer._

Everything's going dim and my thoughts and the surrounding noises become fuzzy and hard to distinguish, like I'm losing consciousness. Only I don't feel like I'm blacking out at all. Instead it's like… I don't know, I can't explain it… it feels like something yet… nothing… there's no pain… no good feeling either, don't get me wrong, I'm not- No… it feels great now… REALLY great… Like I'm floating on a soft fluffy cloud over a peaceful, sunlit meadow. So warm… so comfortable… so… safe… I decide to just lie back and relax. Maybe I'd even go for a run later like I haven't done in so long. Who could possibly bother me here?

 _This is the perfect spot to nap._


	3. A Very Off Evening

Chapter 3- A Very Off Evening

" _Long time, no see, Tails!" My friend smiled as he finally spoke._

" _Hi, Sonic! Boy am I glad to see you."_

" _Yeah, I bet you are. Are you okay? You looked pretty scared."_

" _Scared? ME?! Nah, I wasn't scared. I was, uh, trying to lower their guard!" A total lie. I was as scared as ever that night. Those two thugs had gotten the jump on me, and I was definitely unprepared to fight, made even worse that I couldn't fly. I was lucky Sonic just happened to show up. By the look on his face, I could tell he saw right through me. Still, he didn't let me see that._

" _Sure you were. You have anywhere to go tonight?"_

" _Nope. I'm a long ways away from my home."_

 _After a while he replied, "Well… come on back with me! I can give you a place to crash tonight until the rain stops."_

 _I was flabbergasted. Sonic. With his own place. Usually I'd be the one offering HIM the place to stay._

" _Since when did you get your own place?"_

" _Since things around here got really bad. I've had to work non-stop to get things back to normal and I figured I'd need a home base. I'm obviously not leaving town anytime soon."_

" _Huh. Who knew?" I thought about this for a long time as we made our way over to Sonic's house._

* * *

It's very quiet inside the house for the first time in a while. While the others are most likely outside fighting, I'm still busy with my research.

 _I'm on your trail, you sick, freak…_

About an hour, I think, passes and Amy and Knuckles burst through the door carrying Sonic with them.

"Tails, please, we need your help!" Amy cries in desperation.

"Yeah, I'll be over there in a minu-"

"Now, Tails, NOW!" That was Knuckles. His voice is seemingly even MORE urgent than Amy's. That gets my attention, so I decide to go over there and check out the problem.

"What's going on, guys?"

"It's Sonic! Eggman gave him a shot of something while I wasn't looking and he collapsed!"

"What?!"

I get a really good look at my pal, and boy does he not look good. He's completely limp in Knuckles' arms, he's mumbling to himself incoherently from time to time, and whatever part of his eyes are cracked open, they're glazed over, and staring at nothing like he's in a trance or dying or something. He also looks pale, and his fur's gone from cobalt to sky blue. Really weird…

Amy keeps trying to help him, but he doesn't respond to any stimuli she gives him. "Sonic, come on, you need to wake up! We're starting to get worried!"

"..."

"Nothing…" Knuckles shakes his head sadly, not knowing what to do.

"Let me try something." I go into the kitchen and make Sonic a chili dog. If anything's gonna bring him out of this, it's one of these. I then waft the fresh hotdog in his nose. "Come on, pal… it's a chili dog, your favorite…" I say worriedly.

After about five minutes, I start to notice his color coming back and him looking less and less out of it. A little while later and he blinks and hops out of Knuckles' arms, completely full of energy and in a far better mood than before.

"Hey, guys! Man, it smells great in here. You make something Tails?"

"Uh… y-yeah, I did." I give him the chili dog I had made for him.

 _Well, you sure bounced back quick._

"So, how did I get back here? I thought we were fighting outside." He stuffs the whole chilidog down his mouth and gets a quizzical look waiting for an answer.

"You passed out after Eggman shot you with something. Don't you remember?"

"Hmm…" Sonic scratches his head for a bit, trying to recall what happened. We eventually get an answer. "Nope. I don't remember anything about the fight. Just that we were fighting Eggman and that's it. Oh, and that you were on the phone while you were SUPPOSED to be helping me, Knux."

"Sorry about that. Vector wants to go out to dinner tonight and he wants to make sure Charmy, Espio, Blaze, Silver, and the Rouges didn't know."

"Knux, I don't care. Not at all. The point is I might not have been knocked out if you were paying attention."

"Man, you're no fun when you're in leader mode. You were more fun before this whole thing started."

"Yeah, Sonic… you need to loosen up a little."

"You're siding with him, Amy?!" The more the conversation goes on, the more irritated Sonic gets. Even Knuckles knows he shouldn't keep going.

Knuckles sighs. "Fine Sonic. You just keep going on being no fun." Knuckles flicks his nose and runs out.

"Hey, get back here! You're gonna pay for that!" Sonic chases him. Whatever he was being affected by, it might prove Knuckles wrong. He seems far more like his old, much funner and more playful self after that little issue.

"You really think Sonic's okay Tails?"

"I know he's okay. Just listen to them down there." I'm referring to those two goofballs downstairs playfighting. They sound like they're having a good time, but also like they're gonna break something if they continue. "By the way, where's Shadow?"

"He went to go look for something. Don't know where though."

"Hmm…"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go break those two up before they hurt themselves. See ya. GUYS!" Amy runs down the stairs to break them up, leaving me alone.

 _That was really weird. I'm sure it's nothing though. Probably just Eggman trying to incapacitate Sonic to distract us._

I eventually get back to my research after pondering what just happened.

 _I'm on your trail… better watch out..._


	4. A Situation of Unknown Circumstances

Chapter 4- A Situation of Unknown Circumstances

I slept great last night. I know it's probably bad that I have some weird drug made by Eggman of all people swimming around inside me, but I don't care at the moment, it makes me feel great.

 _What the heck are you saying? You feel terrible, You're radiating pain it hurts so bad._

That morning I skipped down the hall and made my way down to the breakfast table. I feel like I'm already on a sugar high and Knuckles hasn't even made the pancakes yet.

 _Have you gone insane, Sonic? Don't you feel the energy just come out of your pores?! I mean come on, your feet were practically dragging!_

Pay no attention to that stupid little voice in my head, I feel fine.

 _No you don't._

"WILL YOU BE QUIET?!" Oops, did I say that outloud?

"Who the hell are you talking to?"

Dang.

"It's nothing, Shads."

"Good, cause I know you weren't yelling at me like that." Shadow continues to brew his morning coffee and ignores me the rest of the time. All I wanted to know was where Knuckles was with my dang chocolate pancakes!

 _Will you calm down? It takes a long time to make pancakes ya know._

It's not like it's rocket science.

 _It's Knuckles. What do you expect?_

Conscience, you really are a boring downer aren't you?

 _I'm just trying to get you through the day ya dang Nutter Butter._

Yeah, yeah… Finally Knux is done!

"It's about time, bud! I'm STARVING!"

"Yeah, I saw you start gnawing on the table, you were so hungry." I look down and see the table has a gaping missing piece of wood.

 _How embarrassing… tsk, tsk._

Shut up you stupid Conscience. You're messing up the narrative.

 _Fine, I'll shut up for a while. Don't say I didn't warn you._

I sigh in my head. Sweet silence. Back on track, I scarf down my pancakes, even talking with my mouth full for a bit.

"Kwuclles, tese ar graf!"

"Knew you'd like 'em. They have cinnamon in them." He rubs his chest with his hand and puts on a smug grin like he just won the Ring Lottery. I roll my eyes and dart up. Time to get some running in!

"Thanks, Knux, it was great, gotta go!" I don't even give Knuckles time to say anything as I run out.

Running. The best thing in the world. Better than the feeling of a nice hot meal warming your entire body, better than hugging a baby or hanging out with a puppy, better than beating up Eggman and anyone else who dares coming in my city. Running is freedom. Running is love. Running is life. Just feeling the wind in my quills was enough to put me at peace, but when you're running just at the speed of sound, passing everything and everyone as though they were never there at all, it really puts me in a good mood. Or should I say a better mood.

After a couple of laps around the continent, I come back and stroll around Future City. It's a beautiful night outside. The place is alive with neon lights and people getting some late night Extreme Gear practice in. Even if that isn't the case, people are all over. I decide to go grab a bite to eat at the local diner before going home. When I step in however, I see someone I never expect would ever show his face in plain sight like this.

"What are you doing here, Baldy McNosehair?!" I wasn't too happy anymore, especially based on what the others told me about yesterday. I felt uneasy with Eggman here in my presence, staring at me with this evil grin that I just wanted to punch off of him.

"Can't an evil genius come and eat at one of the city's finest eateries? I have a life too, Sonic."

"Oh yeah right. I know you have an evil plan, Egg Head, now spi-"

"Something the matter, Sonic…?"

I blink and all the sudden, I'm in the meadow again. The nice, warm, safe meadow from before. It's nice and calm and my head's swimming with pleasure again. I smile as this time I decide to explore. It's full of small wild animals. Kinda like the animals I used to save when Eggman still used them as fuel instead of chemicals and nuclear fusion. But then out of nowhere one of the rabbits bites me. It fricking bit me! ME! I not having that so I swat it off. Then all of the animals in the meadow soon follow. It takes all I have to use my Homing Attack and Sonic Boost to defend myself. Yeah, I know, the Sonic Boost is overkill, but what are you gonna do?

Well, I did it. All of the animals have backed off and I'm safe. Then I blink again and I'm back in the restaurant.

"What the…?"

Virtually all of the patrons are knocked out and injured. How could this have happened on my watch while I'm in my stupid fantasy world?! I dash over to one of the injured diner patrons.

"Sir, are you alright?!"

"NO! Please don't hurt me! Stay away!"

"Huh?" I look behind my back to try and figure out who he's talking about. I don't see anyone. Strange, but I keep trying to help the guy. I want to escort him to one of the ambulances but…

"Don't touch me you monster!"

I look confused for a while, but then it dawns on me:

I did this. I hurt these people.

"Sir, I'm just trying to help, let m-"

Another sharp prick, this time in my neck. Not from Eggman, but from a friend, to my surprise.

"Sh… Sha… Shado-" He puts a rag up to my face, making the sleepy feeling that had already overcome me stronger. Most likely chloroform.

"Shh… go to sleep…" That's the last thing I heard before the feeling just becomes too much for me to fight anymore.

It all goes black from there.


	5. Rude Awakening

Chapter 5- Rude Awakening

" _Whelp, here it is! Hedgehog Manor, as I like to call it. I know it probably isn't much."_

 _So this was Sonic's house: a two story dome with a satellite on top. The inside barely looked touched. And it surprisingly looked really nice._

" _Have a seat and I'll getcha somethin' to drink."_

" _No thanks, big bro, I'm good. Not hungry or thirsty."_

" _Oh, okay then." He pours himself a cup of cola and then plops down on the couch next to me._

" _So, how's it been lately?"_

" _Exhausting. Working by myself's starting to take its toll on me. Haven't gotten much time to myself. Or rest besides right now."_

" _Oh, I'm sorry buddy. I didn't know working by yourself would be a problem." There's the reason I had felt so guilty… Man did I screw my pal up._

" _It's fine, really. At the start, I didn't have trouble at all. But recently, Eggman's churned out a lot of good plans. I can still take him, but…"_

 _I noticed his pause. "But what?"_

" _But it's just not fun working alone anymore. I really got used to the two of us I guess."_

" _Well… Then it's time for me to come back. I'm moving in."_

" _Ya mean it?!" Sonic got very excited. That decided it. I was coming back to Future City._

* * *

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. All of my research. All of the time I spent. All of the wasted energy. It's all for nothing. I can't figure out anything our assailant. It's so disheartening I can just scream. and I'm about to when Shadow comes in with a heavily drugged Sonic.

"Found him beating the crap out of anything that moved in a diner. Think he was trying to beat up a person a second time when I tranquilized him."

"Wh-Why…?"

"I don't know."

"Let's look at the security footage. That'll give us some answers." I connect my computer to the diner's security cameras and allow myself to view old footage. What I find is a shock, to say the least. "Shadow, take a look at this." I enlarge the footage so he can see.

"What the?"

 _ **Buster's Famous Steakum Grill**_

 _ **6: 55 PM**_

The footage starts out being very normal, besides the fact that Eggman was there of, course. I turn the sound on.

 _ **Eggman:**_ _Waiter, a round of carbonated water if you please._

 _ **Waiter:**_ _Don't get any ideas on walking out without paying this time. I got the police on speed-dial now just for you._

 _ **Eggman:**_ _Yeah, yeah, yeah._

 _ **7: 02 PM**_

At this point, Sonic enters the restaurant. He looks none too pleased to see Eggman.

 _ **Sonic:**_ _What are you doing here, Baldy McNosehair?!_

 _ **Eggman:**_ _Can't an evil genius come and eat at one of the finest eateries? I have a life too, Sonic._

 _ **Sonic:**_ _Oh, yeah right, I know you have an evil plan, Egg Head, so spi-_ _***stops mid-sentence and stands there with a blank stare***_

 _ **Eggman:**_ _Something the matter, Sonic?_ _ ***Eggman has a look of genuine confusion on his face***_

 _ **Sonic:**_ …

 _ **Eggman:**_ _YOO-HOO, you in there, Sonic?_ _ ***Eggman waves a hand in his face to try and gauge a reaction, but comes up short***_ _Odd…_

 _ **Waiter:**_ _There ya go, Eggman, I got your wate-_

 _ **Sonic:**_ _***expression changes quickly, making it look like he has murderous intentions***_ _Must… protect… Dr. Eggman…_

 _ **Waiter:**_ _Hey, you okay there, Soni-_

 _ **Sonic:**_ _***jumps behind the counter and starts attacking him***_ _BRING IT ON!_

 _ **Waiter:**_ _OH SWEET MOTHER OF CHAOS!_

 _ **Patrons: *all get a scared look on their face as they watch Sonic maul the poor guy***_

 _ **Sonic:**_ _***finishes with the waiter***_ _WHAT, YOU WANT A PIECE OF THIS?!_

 _ **Patrons:**_ _***run scared, prompting Sonic to hunt them down like a predator***_

Camera goes fuzzy with static.

 _ **8: 10 PM**_

At this point, Sonic stops attacking everyone.

 _ **Sonic:**_ _What the…?_ _ ***dashes over to one of the victims***_ _Sir, are you alright?!_

 _ **Patron:**_ _NO! Please don't hurt me! Stay away!_

 _ **Sonic:**_ _Huh?_ _ ***has a confused expression, as if he doesn't recall the rampage***_

 _ **Patron:**_ _Don't touch me, you monster!_

The camera finally gives out and Shadow and I exchange astonished looks. How could Sonic be capable of doing such a thing? Why did he look so concerned all of the sudden after? And where have I seen this phenomenon before?

"Shadow, put Sonic in bed. We'll question him in the morning. Right now, I think I'm onto something with my research."

"Normally, I wouldn't say be the one to say this, but research is more important than the well-being of your best friend?" He's right, that DOES sound weird coming from him. But, of course, he's right.

I sigh. "You wouldn't understand."

Shadow shakes his head disapprovingly and exits with Sonic, leaving me all alone with just me and my computer, a kit desperate for answers.


	6. Betrayal for No Justified Reason

Chapter 6- Betrayal for No Justified Reason

 _ **{{SONIC SEZ MUSIC THEME PLAYS}}**_

Kids, remember somethin': DON'T let Shadow drug you. I wake up the next morning, feeling even worse than before. That semi-euphoric feeling I had yesterday morning is now LONG GONE. My heartbeat pulsates this throbbing sensation throughout my entire body and I feel like a ticking time bomb of vomit's coming my way. T.M.I.? Well, too bad for you, suck it up like I have to. All I wanna do today is lie in bed. I don't drink, is this what being hung-over feels like?

A knock comes at my door, but I feel too terrible to open up for whoever it is. More so because I hear Shadow's voice. I throw my face under the covers and try to catch a few more zzz's. That's when the gunshots start.

"WAAAHH!" The sound itself is enough to make me jump out of bed and see what's gotten into my jet black and crimson rival. "Shadow, what is your major malfunction?!" There he stands. Facing me with one hand out the window shooting his favorite Shadow Rifle. Yes he named a laser pistol after himself, but don't judge him about it if you wanna stay in one piece. He gives me a nasty glare as he takes his hand out.

"It's about time you woke up."

"Well I had to sleep off all the tranquilizer and chloroform you forced into me." I shoot him an equally nasty glare. This sets off a hot button with him. He drops his gun and pins me to the wall with enough force to leave a few cracks in his wake. Guess who's gonna have to pay for that? Yep. Me.

"I'm not in the mood for your attitude, Sonic. You should be lucky you aren't back on Prison Island after what happened."

"Pr-Prison Island? Why would-"

"Shut up and come with me." He proceeds to drag me up the stairs to Tails' lab by my quills. Getting pulled by pretty much your hair six times over is not fun. Then just to be a jerk he throws me into one of Tails' chairs.

"Have a seat, faker." My quills extend as an involuntary reflex and cuts multiple holes into it. Now I'm stuck and can't leave, but I try anyways, which is a bad idea with Shadow still furious at me for whatever reason.

"I said **HAVE A SEAT, DAMN IT!"** I get a swift, sharp jab into my stomach and I'm down again. With the wind knocked out of me I don't dare try getting up again. I just sit there apparently waiting for Tails, confused, angry, and a bit scared.

After some time, Tails comes into the part of the lab I'm being kept in. I'm hoping Tails would be the voice of reason to Shadow's insane little ploy. I hadn't done anything wrong last night, right? Of course the sedation wiped out anything that could possibly be left in my head from the day before so something might have happened, but for it to be bad enough for me to end up in Prison Island like Shads said? I can't wrap my head around that.

"Sonic…" Tails starts, getting me to pay attention to him. I'm not going to let my thoughts be unheard, however.

"Tails, please, I haven't done anything wrong, why am I-" Another sharp jab from Shadow shuts me up.

"Wait… your turn…" Shads says coldly.

"..."

"Now, Sonic, I know you probably can't recall what happened." I nod. "That's why I'm gonna show you what happened. See if I can't jog your memory. Alright?"

"..." I nod again, not wanting to speak in fear of Shadow jabbing me to the point of breaking skin.

"Good." Tails plays me the whole scene on the security archives. If I wasn't confused before, I certainly am now. "Ring any bells?"

I shake my head. "But… why-" Shadow threatens to actually shoot me if I don't shut my mouth, much to mine and Tails' dismay.

"Shadow, let him talk. You don't have to… do that."

"Fine. One slip and I'm gonna fill you full of lead."

"What was your name in a past life? Shadow the Psychohog?! What the hell is your problem with me?!"

A look is all it takes to get me biting my tongue.

"Buddy, stay calm. And Shadow, I said you could lay off."

"Hmph." Shadow turns away from me, almost looking disgusted.

"Now, continue bud."

"But why would I do this? It's not like me at all."

"I know, Sonic. I know. And please don't hate me but…" I hear faint sirens outside. He didn't. He couldn't have.

"You… called G.U.N. on me?"

Tails bites his lip. "I… yes…?"

I take a long pause. "After only one outburst… you call G.U.N. On me. Your best friend." The betrayal I feel can easily be heard. I give a light head shake and a chuckle.

"Soni-"

I force my quills to break apart the metal chair and I stand up and walk out.

 _They want me to go… then I'll let them take me._

An officer walks up to me. "Sonic the Hedgehog, you're under arrest for your assault of innocent diners at Buster's Famous Steakem Grill."

I look back at Tails, who looks mortified with how easily I'm letting them take me. I shoot a glare that can only be described by the words: _How could you, you two-faced, traitorous son of a-_ I get interrupted by cuff shackling my hands as soldiers gently push me into the back of the truck. They close the door and begin to drive off. I can faintly make out Tails and maybe even Amy, who at this point must have been awake, screaming my name. I don't care at all this time.

"You seem to be taking this easier than last time Hedgehog."

"Yeah, well last time I was innocent and I had friends backing me up." I glance at the truck's tiny back window. "Apparently not this time, according to them." I'm silent the rest of the way as we make our way to Prison Island.


	7. Guess Who?

Chapter 7- Guess Who?

 _Moving in with Sonic was a really fun experience. The moving in itself was a blast. After all the boxes were unpacked we played with each other in our own little box forts, using the styrofoam peanuts as snowballs. Surprisingly I won. It wasn't easy but I lured Sonic over a pile of boxes and I simply made them topple over on him and bury him in styrofoam. It was obvious my big bro was ecstatic to have me back as he didn't even object. That first night we curled up by the fireplace on the T.V. in the living room while the heater was on and drank hot cocoa. Perfect thing to do for winter._

 _Sadly, however, the joy of it all didn't last. When Sonic said Eggman stepped up his game he wasn't kidding. Everyday, he came up with something new. He wasn't expecting me at first so it became easy for a few fights, but the very next time we fought afterwards, he had a death trap that could've killed us easily if we didn't know what we were doing. After a while, exhaustion set in, and that day's fight would've resulted in us being six feet under if it hadn't been for Knuckles. He was in the city picking up snacks for his Master Emerald watch._

" _Knuckles, help!" I cried out in agony as Eggman's invention was crushing us under it's feet._

" _Wha..?"_

" _Knux, please! Get this thing offa us!" Sonic this time. He was as terrified as I was, most likely in shock from the near-death experience._

" _Hang on, guys, I'm coming!" He dropped his groceries and lifted the robot up off of us so we could be free._

" _What is the meaning of this?! Stop it, Knuckles!"_

" _Shut your trap, Eggman!" Knuckles threw the robot out of the city as Eggman retreated on his Egg-Mobile._

" _Thanks Knuckles. We woulda been goners if you didn't show up."_

" _Don't mention it, Sonic." Knuckles was about to continue out of the city back to Angel Island, but Sonic wasn't done talking._

" _Wait. Knuckles, please… join our team."_

" _What, but I gotta-"_

" _When was the last time someone tried to steal the Master Emerald? And can't you hire someone to look after it while you're gone?"_

" _Maybe, but why-"_

" _Knuckles, Eggman's gotten bad. And I admit it: I can't take him on my own, and while I really appreciate Tails' help a lot, he isn't enough anymore." I nodded at this statement. He was completely right. "Please. We need you."_

 _Knuckles thought about this for a moment._

" _Oh, alright."_

" _You'll do it?!" My eyes sparkle with excitement._

" _I can't let Eggman run you two into the ground. I'll join up with ya."_

" _Great! Then pack your stuff and meet me in my house so we can hook ya up with a room."_

" _Uh…"_

" _Sonic got a house a while back."_

" _Gotcha. I'll be there tomorrow morning." Knuckles walked away back to Angel Island to pack. Things were looking easier for us now that the original Team Heroes was back together._

* * *

 _What have I done?_

That line repeats in my mind as I sulk back into my lab. I can't believe I did this. I called G.U.N. on my best friend and now he hates me, I'm sure of that. Why did I do this, you may ask? Well…

It started after Shadow took Sonic into his room and left me alone. I wanted to get a better hint as to why he rampaged. It couldn't have been on his own volition. That's when I noticed. He attacked soon after he got near Eggman. Then all the sudden he went into nearly the same state we brought him in the day before, when Eggman injected him with that substance. His fur turned sky blue, his eyes were glazed, and he looked very much out of it, too. And while his speech was definitely coherent, it was also in a detached tone. It looked almost as if he was having an out-of-body experience. I didn't want to risk it happening again, so I called G.U.N. to detain him until we figured out what exactly was going on, and the complete effects of that serum, which I was sure was making him like this. I told G.U.N. what I found, but by the way they were talking to me on the phone I don't think they cared about what I said.

Knuckles kept the syringe from that day, so I begin there. The serum feels like a runny syrup. It's a jet black color, glowing that familiar sky blue. Okay, when a substance defies laws of ionizing radiation like this, you know something's up. I place the serum on a scanner.

 _ **Scanning…**_

 _ **Scan Complete:**_

 _ **Radioactive: No**_

 _ **Organic: No**_

 _ **Chemical: No**_

 _ **Error. Error. ErrorErrorEroEroEro**_

My computer short circuits and nearly explodes, but I unplug it in time. I stand there bewildered. It isn't a radioactive, chemical, organic, and even though it stopped before the scan finished showing the results, I'm pretty sure it wasn't inorganic either.

 _What, does this stuff not exist?! It has to be qualified as SOMETHING!_

I stare at this… this goop for the longest time. It's almost mesmerizing to look at. The way it jiggles around, and the light isn't making it much easier to look away.

After a long time, Amy's entrance into the room snaps me out of it.

"Have you found out anything?"

"No, I haven't. I scanned it and it isn't like anything I've heard of before. I can't classify it as anything."

" _What makes you think I'm ANY of those things…?"_

"Was that thing talking?!" It manages to freak out Amy alright. She says this while screaming her head off and running out the door, afterall.

"E-Excuse me?"

" _You heard me…"_ the substance says. The blue glow then turns into a jet black mist, just like the substance itself. The substance bursts out of the syringe it's being kept in as it expands.

This is what I was looking for alright. I think back to all the research I did. Ever since our little trip to the tourist trap known as Soleanna, I've had an itching feeling something was off. Sonic and I had visited the museum where an experiment had been simulated. I forced him to come in with me as he was more interested with eating. The experiment was about harnessing the power of their Sun God, Solaris. The experiment was a failure, but thankfully no one got hurt and everything was contained. Unfortunately for Solaris, one half of it, Iblis, had been destroyed in the explosion. Only one half remained: a jet black creature known as Mephiles, who uses his base shadowy form to copy other forms with their shadows to use as his own. No one knows about what he's capable of, but thankfully he never got out of containment.

Or so we thought.


	8. Arrival

Chapter 8- Arrival

It's the longest copter ride of my life. I don't say a word to any of the soldiers, even though they try to prompt me to. I think I'm making them uncomfortable.

"So, Sonic, how're things going, y-you know, besides this whole thing?"

"..." I shoot a death glare at this little question. How have things been? Heh. Oh, you should be glad you're all soldiers nowadays, sitting on your asses 24/7 while me and my, ahem 'ex-friends' clean up the trash Eggman makes. I haven't seen any of you lazy human freaks out in the battlefield once since the 'robots taking over Future City' incident. I hate you. Hate you all for making me and my 'friends' go it alone while as the _military_ it's your JOB to protect civilians too… I have nearly died countless times for what I do. I've had sleepless nights, nightmares, I've gone without eating or running or having time to myself. I've been beaten, battered, bruised, and hospitalized. Yesterday was a rare oddity among all the hell, for the most part… And now you're taking me to prison… because of one unprompted little rampage. Whatever happened to 'three strikes, you're out?' So, stupid little man, things are going terribly. I realize I'm still glaring at the soldier and stop in fear these idiots will think I'm about to attack them or something.

"Let's just leave him be, guys. He's obviously not in the mood to talk." At last, someone gets me a little. Too bad it took until we were finally arriving.

I'm led off of the truck and am greeted by the Commander of G.U.N. himself. Ooh, I wanna chew him out so badly, but I have more sense than that.

"Commander." I say after some silence, with a cool chill in my voice.

"Sonic. Finally you've arrived. Uncuff him men. He didn't need those in the first place." With that, a soldier uncuffs me. I can tell they want at least one of them holding me, but they needn't worry. I'll take my punishment like a grown hedgehog. I'm not a baby anymore, and running only proves you've done something wrong. Learned this the hard way. "Please, come with me." A gentle nudge gets me into step behind the Commander. There's that word again: gentle. Why are they being so damn nice to me? Aren't I, apparently, a criminal? Shouldn't I be getting the same treatment as all the other scum? Or are they just being nice because of my status?

"You don't have to be so friendly to me y'know. I know I'm a criminal."

"You aren't a criminal, son. Believe me, normally these soldiers wouldn't care no matter what your status i-"

"Then what's the deal?"

"Your friend explained the situation to us before we set out to pick you up. Yes, you're under arrest, but you won't be getting the same treatment as these other, more deserving crooks."

"...How so?"

"First off, you'll be getting a nicer cell in solitary than your last one." He opens a door to show me a nice, freshly furnished room with windows and a plate of chili dogs waiting for me. I stare at the setup for a while. "Something wrong, Sonic?"

"..."

"You're only going to be in here until the others figure out what's wrong with you, so don't get too comfortable." A shove this time gets me inside and the door closes, locking me in from the outside.

I sit down on the bed they put out for me. I feel incredible the moment I sit down. It is made from a warm, velvet material and cotton. Then I scarf down the chili dogs, made very professionally and each one feeling like a hug, which I really need right now. They clearly are trying to make me as comfortable as possible, so I have to give them some points for effort. But what's the old saying, 'A for effort, F for results'? It's still prison. It's still solitary, for that matter. My friends are still traitors in my eyes. I still have no freedom at the moment. But I should be used to having no freedom. Eggman's crap has done a pretty thorough job of desensitizing me to that, living by the clock each day, wondering if these are your last moments, constantly hoping it'll eventually end. I've never had these feelings before, and I despise thinking like this. It's become a bad habit of mine, unfortunately, and it's part of the reason why I have trouble sleeping. I'm horribly tired from this taxing day. So much has happened that I'm drained. Well, as long as that comfortable bed is there, I might as well use it. Who knows, a little afternoon nap could help me feel better.


	9. Realizations

Chapter 9- Realizations

 _With Knuckles on the team, Eggman became much easier for a long time. He couldn't figure out robots that would be able to take all three of us at once. Life was way better than it was before. However, once again, we got careless and didn't count on Eggman actually making a good invention to deal with us. It all started when we were walking around town._

" _Two scoops of mint chip please." I said eagerly. Sonic was taking us out for ice cream because of the heat wave that had hit at the time._

" _I'll take Cookie Dough!"_

" _Got any Neapolitan?"_

 _We all got our ice cream and Sonic and Knuckles got into a mock argument about why they had the better flavor._

" _Clearly, Neapolitan is the better flavor. It gives you three delicious options all in one." Knuckles started._

" _Psh. When your ice cream is loaded with cookie pieces mixed in with creamy vanilla, you don't need options." Sonic replied matter-of-factly._

" _Yeah, well I don't like chewing on my ice cream."_

" _Yeah, well I don't like strawberry!"_

" _How could you not like strawberry?!"_

" _Cause, it's not a good flavor."_

 _The argument goes on for a while._

" _Uh, guys, you're letting the sun get to your ice cream first." I said with a laugh._

 _The both of them ignored me and kept arguing. That's when I heard the clanging footsteps. "Guys, it's Eggman!"_

" _WHAT?!" Both said in unison, rapidly wolfing down their ice cream and turning to face the robotic monstrosity Eggman had made this time._

" _Well, well, if it isn't Team Heroes…?"_

" _NIce robot, Egg Head. You look like you actually put some effort into this one." Sonic shot back with his usual snarky tone._

" _Shut up, you mangy little hedgehog. This time, I will crush you into pulp with this baby."_

" _Let's just see you try it. Let's go team!" All of us rushed to the robot at once._

" _Heh." Eggman made a large hop upwards, also producing a blinding light. Knuckles and I covered our eyes in time, but Sonic had been temporarily blinded._

" _Ah, my eyes!" He tried to rub his sight back, but by the time it finally worked, the robot had landed on top of him._

" _Sonic!"_

" _Heh, heh, heh… I told you I'd crush him into pulp." He then starts stomping on my unconscious friend._

" _Leave him alone!" I yelled out furiously._

" _And if I don't?" He shot back. Next, out of nowhere, a hammer was thrown directly into the center of the robot, revealing it's inner circuitry and destroying it._

" _...Amy…"_

" _NO ONE HURTS MY SONIC AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" She came running full tilt with her Piko-Piko hammer raised, all while a terrified Eggman tried to escape in time._

" _Stay away from me, girl!" Eggman unfortunately got away in time._

 _The three of us then run to Sonic and I look him over. His back is fine, thank goodness, but his arms and one of his legs are broken, with his chest caved in from his broken ribs. His body is flushed red from internal bleeding, and he's probably gone from unconscious to coma. He isn't breathing too well either. Knuckles carefully picks him up and we make our way to the hospital._

" _Don't worry pal… We'll help you."_

* * *

"A-Are you… Mephiles the Dark…?" I have a feeling of dread coursing through my veins as he, for some reason, chooses to take on Shadow's form. For those of you who want more information, Mephiles is the equivalent of Satan. Yep, you heard that right.

"Funny… I wouldn't expect you to know my identity, seeing as though our history has been erased from memory…"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter. The point is I remember you with perfect clarity… and how you and your friends ruined my plans to form Solaris and destroy life as you know it…"

"So, we're on your hit list?!"

"Not you, in particular… it's the three hedgehogs I'm more concerned about…"

"I know, I've done my research in your odd, hostile feelings towards Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. I just never knew why."

"You don't need to know that information… for now I must continue my plan…"

"You have a plan to corrupt someone until they can't control themselves and their lives are ruined… don't you...?" I remembered reading up on that in particular.

"Hmm. Smart little fox. The kicker is…" He gets uncomfortably close to me. "...I'm already doing it thanks to that fool, Dr. Ivo Robotnik…"

"That could only mean…" I gasp at the realization. "Sonic!"

"Dingdingdingdingding! Congratulations, my friend. His apparent mood swings and out-of-body experiences are only the first step… the end result is clear, but the way the end result is achieved is up to chance. I only know it will be FILLED with suffering and sheer agony…"

"Leave my friend alone!" I'm furious now. Just when everything is just beginning to simmer down, Mephiles has to come in and ruin it all. it's not fair in the slightest. I try to land a punch on Mephiles, but he dodges easily.

"What kind of an attack was that…? Pathetic…" He disappears.

After he leaves, I immediately jump back to my computer to hopefully figure out the effects of Mephiles' slimy little base for _coursing inside of your body!_ I bet he was getting him to protect Eggman to throw us off like it was a mind-control serum or something.

And hopefully I can figure this out before something terrible happens with Sonic.


	10. Here it Goes Again

Chapter 10- Here it Goes Again

I don't know how long I've slept. Figured it's all I really can do while I'm trapped in here. Ever since I came here, I've been so down. This depressive feeling won't go away no matter how much I sleep however. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge my friends… they were only trying to help me… Tails probably thinks I hate him now. A few hours later I notice my pillow is soaking wet. I realize I've been crying, and who wouldn't in this situation? Maybe they'll never figure out what's the matter with me… Maybe… maybe they'll never let me out of here. I'd be considered too dangerous to let out. I'd lose everything: my freedom, my friends, and even the rest of my spirit… I don't want to think about this, but I can't help it… please… why can't someone just let me out of here…? I sob to myself until I finally cry myself to sleep. A dreamless sleep, thank goodness.

I am awoken by the Commander entering my room. I really don't want to see him today.

"Rise and shine, Sonic!"

"Mrhgn…" I mumble to myself, half-asleep.

"Come on, Sonic, let's go!" He has the nerve to walk up to me and pick me up like a ragdoll. I'm half his size and weigh the same as a small human child, so it can't be too hard for him anyways.

"Can't you see I'm not in the mood…?" I say with irritation and sadness, due to my depression.

"I know, I know… but you're getting out of here today."

"Huh?" 'Getting out of here?' Does he mean they're already coming back for me?

"Shocking right? Apparently Tails thinks it would be better if you took it easy at home while being monitored again. You'd have more freedom there than in here anyways."

"It doesn't matter to me…" *I drag my feet as I follow him to the exit of the facility.

"You're… starting to scare me a bit."

"Sorry…"

"No need to apologize. You're just worrying me a bit, that's it. That security footage from that night was… unexpected to say the least. I've never seen you act so brutal towards others."

 _Stop talking, just PLEASE stop. You aren't exactly making me feel better about myself, dipstick._

What kind of thing is THAT to tell someone who is depressed?

"Oh, really?" is all I say. My mind is on other things. First second I get in the plane to go home, I'm apologizing to him. He was only trying to help afterall. But… What's going on? My head has that floating feeling aga- Oh, no… not now… Everything starts to fade out as I'm put back into the 'meadow'. I try to get the Commander to help me, but my mouth just won't let me move it on my own anymore.

"Sonic? Are you okay?" The Commander asks me in vain. Then I'm completely gone.


	11. Going Too Far for Now

Chapter 11- Going Too Far for Now

" _This hedgehog needs to be transported to the ICU, now, now!"_

 _Doctors surrounded all of us as we carried our fallen friend into the hospital. It was incredibly chaotic. Not only did we have to deal with questioning from all of the hospital personnel, but we had a little thing famous people have to deal with called the paparazzi. Luckily we had Amy there with us and it didn't take long for her to lose her cool and chase them off._

" _CAN'T YOU IDIOTS TAKE A HINT?!" She took out her Piko-Piko hammer and started swinging. That got them to leave._

" _Thank you, Amy." Looks like the doctors and I had the same feelings about those slimeballs._

 _Sonic quickly got whisked away into the Intensive Care Unit and the three of us were left in the waiting room alone. The poor guy looked absolutely terrible. I knew it would be a long while before Sonic would come to, but none of us ever left. We couldn't bring ourselves to leave him like that. Knux and I told Amy about our team-up, and we didn't even get to finish our proposal before she quickly agreed to join up._

" _Why didn't you guys ask me before, I'd love to team up with you guys!"_

" _It could be really tough, Ames." Knuckles was just trying to warn her, but that didn't stop her from lashing out at him._

" _WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN YOU SEXIST LITTLE-" I managed to shove her off of him before she did any damage._

" _Amy, he was just asking a question. It'll be equal amounts of tough for all of us." She paused and then finally replied back in an oddly calm tone._

" _Alright, Tails! I'm still up for it!"_

" _Told ya she didn't like me." Knuckles whispered in my ear._

" _Yeah she does, she's just a bit hot tempered."_

" _If you say so…" Knuckles plopped into a chair and takes a nap while we wait._

" _I just hope Sonic'll be okay…" Amy said, extremely worried for the sake of our friend._

" _It's Sonic, Amy. He's as stubborn as a bull when it comes to his health. He'll be just fine." I tried to sound as reassuring as possible. It worked well enough, but I didn't believe it myself._

 _We waited… and waited… and waited still. It was 5 o'clock in the morning five days later before the doctor finally came._

" _He's awake."_

 _Amy squealed with joy at this news. "He is?!"_

" _Yes. Would you like to see him?" We all nodded and he led us into our pal's room._

 _Sonic was bright-eyed and bushy tailed. He must have been awake for a long while for him to have so much energy. I just had to ask the doctor's to teach me their methods some day._

" _Sonic, you're okay!"_

" _Hi, Ame- OOF!" Amy gave him one of the biggest hugs I've seen in awhile._

" _Don't ever scare me like that again!" Sonic patted her on the back to try and get her off. She got the hint luckily._

" _To be honest, I don't remember much. What happened?"_

" _One of Eggman's robots got the jump on you and you got crushed." Knuckles answered matter-of-factly._

" _Seriously?! Well… that's embarrassing. Sorry for worrying you." He rubbed Amy's hair, who was hugging him in his lap._

" _I'll be right back, I'm gonna pack my stuff!" She ran out, leaving Sonic confused as to what she meant._

 _It was gonna take a long time for us to explain to him that Amy will be living with us._

* * *

"I can't wait to see him, Tails! It's been two weeks!" Amy's definitely excited to see Sonic after all this time, and while I am too, I'm also a little nervous. Last time we saw each other it seemed like Sonic hated me now. According to the Commander. though, those sad feelings were replaced by various other emotions. Well Mephiles is apparently right about one thing. I just hope Sonic hasn't had another one of those out-of-body experiences and hurt someone else.

We fly off to Prison Island. It's a pretty short flight there and we get off to find the place in a panic to our surprise.

"What's going on?!"

"Maybe one of the prisoners are trying to escape! We should go help!" Amy says with a determination in her eyes.

"Right!" We both run in and shock immediately crosses our faces.

"S-Sonic?!" What are you doing?!" Amy shrieks out.

"..." He obviously had just finished taking out one of the guards. Blood stains cover his gloves and he's covered in wounds from the poor victim trying to fight back. At least half of both the guards and prisoners lie dead in the main hall. He doesn't look like he's going to make it easier for the both of us, so when Amy attempts to get near him, I immediately stop her.

"Tails, let me go, I need to get near him so I can-"

"No, Amy. We can't get to close. Just look at him. He's not himself again."

We both get a good look at him. The usual signs are there, only this time, he's surrounded by a bit of an aura. It's the same black aura Mephiles' essence makes. His irises are also beat red, a much deeper red than Shadow's. Still glazed, but they have a look of mindless bloodlust too. It's very unsettling, especially with him covered in blood like this. His fur is pretty much a cool, deeper ocean blue. Amy is visibly shaking and she holds on to me for comfort.

"Shh… don't be afraid. We'll be okay, we just have to get out of the area and get to somewhere safe before-" Me and my big mouth. I just now noticed Sonic's looking right at us. "H-Hi, buddy…" I say nervously.

"..."

"Why isn't he saying anything?"

"He probably can't right now. His brain isn't functioning consciously, so he probably can't come up with a response." Oh, was I wrong.

"Must… kill…"

"Kill?! Tails, what are we gonna do?!"

"We obviously can't outrun him, he has super speed."

"Then what can we do?!"

"We'll have to try and reason with him."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"We're his friends. We can do it." I slowly walk up to him. "Hey, pal…" All I get as a response it a growl.

"Sonic, it's us. Please."

"..." He's not moving at all, like he's paralysed. It's freaking me out. I consider recoiling, but I persist.

"All we wanna do is take you home. We just want to help you, so won't you just come with us? Huh?"

"..."

I offer him my hand. And eventually he takes it. He's turned back to normal, amazingly.

"T...Tails…" He looks like he's about to faint, so I support him.

"It's alright, Sonic. It's alright…" I rub his back when I find he's crying on my shoulder. He must remember what he did. "Let it out pal…"

"I killed them, Tails… I… couldn't stop myself…"

"Sonic, it's not your fault… Come on. Let's get you home, alright?" He nods and Amy and I help him onto the plane.

I hop in the backseat and look back. Sonic's lying on Amy's lap in the back silently weeping while she comforts him. I feel so sorry for the poor guy. He's been through alot and I doubt his torment is over.

 _If you ever make my friend do that again, you'll be sorry, Mephiles._


	12. Starting to Lose It

Chapter 12- Starting to Lose It

"We're nearly home guys."

"Once we get home, honey, you can just sit with me and I'll comfort you some more, alright?" Amy gently rubs my quills as I remain stationary and silent on her lap. I can't hide my sorrow in myself, however.

I don't know what my problem is. I couldn't stop crying. Usually I'm supposed to be the tough one, the strong rock that everyone else uses as a shoulder to cry on. But you know what? You can't blame me. I saw absolutely everything that I did. While I was trapped in that weird place in my head, there was a large television. I got curious and took a peak. One look and I just couldn't look at it anymore. The scene was terrible. Various soldiers dead, and inmates too from what I could tell by the time I became aware of what I was currently doing. Knowing how terrible the standards of arrest in this city are, they were probably innocent people, a lot of them. And I couldn't fight it. I tried all I could but it just wouldn't let me back in. The breaking point? When I was about to try to do the same to Tails and Amy. I draw the line at murdering my friends. I was about to try my hardest to fight, but then my body just… let me back in control. I was confused and a bit shocked but the sorrow instantly washed over me and I broke down.

"..." I can hear Tails and Amy whispering to each other. My eyes are closed and I'm very quiet, so they must think I nodded off.

"What are we going to do to help him, Tails?"

"We'll have to experiment on him. I wouldn't know how to fix him, that's for sure."

"But you said you knew what was going on?"

"I know what I said. I just need more time to figure out a solution. I know one thing: It's gonna be painful before it gets any better." Tails replies remorsefully.

' _Going to hurt…?'_

The last thing I want is to be in even more pain, either physically or emotionally. A switch gets flipped and I go from depressed to seething with anger.

"What do you mean by 'It's gonna get painful before it gets any better?' I'm in enough pain as it is!"

"Sweetie, calm dow-"

"Amy, shut up!" I glare at her, and I see some fear in her eyes. Good. That's what I want. I look back at Tails waiting for his reply.

"Buddy, we have to run some tests if we're going to fix you…" He says cautiously.

"...What kind of 'tests…'?"

"Just a few simple blood tests..."

"Tails you know I can't stand syringes…"

"I know but-"

" _ **IT ISN'T YOUR TURN TO TALK! LET ME HAVE A SAY ONCE IN AWHILE, YOU FREAK! YOU ARE TAKING ANYTHING OUT OF MY BODY, SO FORGET IT!**_ "

"S-Sonic… I just wan-"

" _ **SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!**_ " I pound on the Tornado's wall and punch a gaping hole through the thick metal. Tails promptly lands the plane as soon as he can and runs out.

 _Yeah, go ahead and cry, stupid baby. Cry back to your wittle mommy for all I- Wait… what am I… saying?_

I look around. He landed in a forest. We're probably pretty far from home, but that doesn't matter right at this second. I turn around and see Amy, pretty much paralysed in fear I might do what I did to the plane to her. She can move around easily since I'm not in her lap anymore.

"Amy… don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you…" I try to approach and reassure her, but she inches away from me. Amy's scared of me… _Amy…_ scared of _me_. It both shocks and hurts me. My ears and tail unintentionally droop and I trudge off to try and find Tails. Hopefully he hasn't gotten too far into the forest. Why did I have to snap at Tails so badly…? Then it dawns on me.

 _Why did I snap at all?_

Usually when I get upset at my friends, I simply just try to take my mind off it til I get it chance to blow off some steam. I never angrily snap and them. I'm better than that. And why did I get angry at all? A) Tails was only trying to help, and B) I didn't even know the gist of what he wanted to do with me. It probably won't even be that bad. And that part about me not standing needles. That's just ridiculous. I cut myself on my own quills all the time. I don't even care half the time, too! And where on Earth did I get the strength to punch a hole through 8 inches of diamond reinforced titanium?! Ugh, my mind is racing, this is so much to try and comprehend at once!

 _Think about that later, Sonic. You need to find Tails before he gets hurt._ _Focus on that goal and get moving._

Why is my conscience so right? I get working on finding Tails again, but all those questions are eating away at my brain like a damn tick. Everytime I try not to think about them, they pop right back up, coming to demand more of my attention. The growling in my stomach doesn't help my already fuzzy mind in the slightest. I look around for something to snack on but all I see are berries. I decide on those and try to sniff for anything that can kill me: poison, pesticides, mold, fermentation, rabbid foraging animals… none appear to be present so I grab a handful. They look a lot like a hybrid of cranberries and raspberries. Probably perfect for baking… they look so juicy and plump… so red like the red in my shoes… they smell oddly enough like cinnamon, but I love cinnamon… some of the juice gets onto my glove but it comes right off to my surprise. The liquid is clear. And so sweet! I lap up what's on my hands and down the entire bush. I can feel my stomach distend as the whole bush disappears into it. That giddy feeling comes back as I lie down.

I think I went a little overboard with this one. I'm slipping into a food coma but I don't care right now… I'm looking forward to the little nap that comes with it… I let my extremely droopy eyes close and I fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

It's night time by the time I wake up, in a daze from having all that fruit in me. Fruit isn't supposed to make you lethargic, is it?

 _What was I doing again…? … Oh yeah, I was looking for someone._

I pull myself together the best I can and wander off into the forest, with that happiness front in center. I'm almost hopping like a fool even though I want to pass back out. I don't have anything to worry about… Ooh, is that a unicorn?! The majestic creature was right in the middle of a large clearing in the forest, grazing. So adorable and innocent… It even had wings, so I guess it's a unicorn/ pegasus hybrid? What do you even call those? All the while the beast was surrounded by an aura of a chocolate scent.

I want that horse.


	13. It Only Gets Worse

Chapter 13- It's Only Getting Worse

" _You recruited AMY?!" Yep. Knew he wouldn't take it well._

" _In hindsight, she kinda saved your life, Sonic. You, me, and Tails owe her."_

" _But-"_

" _Knuckles is right, bud." That got a disdainful groan from him._

" _Fine… Amy can… join." Amy overheard our conversation and she came bursting into the room and jumped onto Sonic._

" _I promise, I promise I won't disappoint you!"_

" _Amy… let go…"_

 _Knuckles and I couldn't help but chuckle as we went our way home from the hospital the next day. Four people now should be MORE than enough to take care of Eggman right?_

 _Wrong._

 _Well, of course, par usual, he went down easily. Little did we know he had a secret weapon._

" _Hello again, friends."_

" _Cut to the chase and show us the Robot of The Week." Sonic was uninterested, but I knew to keep alert and take notes._

 _Eggman chuckles. "Oh, it's not a robot… it's something much different and dangerous… I'm sure you know this one well…" He pressed a button to reveal… our clue that Eggman really wants to kill us all this time._

" _I… It's you…" Knuckles said._

" _But… it can't be you! You're on our side, right?" Amy said, flabbergasted._

" _We're screwed." Sonic's reaction mirrored mine. We ARE screwed._

* * *

I was only trying to help him. Why would he just yell at me like that?

It made me sad to think about it. The last time one of us got upset at the other, it was when we were exploring the Lost Hex. Granted it was me being the angry one, and I soon admitted to being a little inaccurate with my accusations. But I hadn't blown up completely at Sonic. … I snap my fingers. The moodswings! Of course, that had to be why. I should have known before. According to Mephiles, his temperament can change at the drop of a hat. He can go from his usual self, to being irrationally happy to being ready to kill someone on his own accord at any given moment. Have to keep that in mind for next time.

Back to my current predicament. I'm totally lost. Sonic was chasing me down before, but I think he got sidetracked and now HE'S probably lost. Amy's probably worried sick and is ready to look herself so SHE'S gonna get lost. And then there's Knuckles and Shadow back home and G.U.N. and ooh, I got a headache.

" _You wouldn't be lost if you hadn't been such a child…"_ A voice behind me utters. I turn around and, probably just to make matters worse, there's Mephiles in all his glory.

"What do you want this time, Mephiles?" I put on my best attitude tone.

"Nice face. Just here to relay some information to you…"

"Yeah, yeah, you're making Sonic suffer for some unspecified reason."

"Abou that… I just added onto the symptom load." He takes out these weird looking red berries.

"What're those?" I take one and examine it. Just touching it with my gloveless hand makes me woozy. I quickly drop it.

"These special berries are hallucinogenic. Eat too many and… well let's just say non-out-of-body hallucinations are the next symptom, and even if an antidote is found, the next step of his suffering will soon be realized."

"Why are you telling me all… He ate them?!"

"Poor fool looked like he was starving, so I obliged." He grins at me with that horrible evil smile.

"Get away from me, you sick demon."

"Better go find him..." He disappears into a dense cloud. Why was Mephiles doing this…? More than anything I need to figure that out. But first things first. I need to find Sonic and Amy. Hopefully Amy stayed put. And I gotta really reconsider not telling the others about our new friend.


	14. Weirdness Afoot

Chapter 14- Weirdness Afoot

 _ **Warning: Next Chapter is A Mindscrew.**_

I duck behind the bushes… I'm so close to that horse, I can taste it… Oh, the gentle breathing of this divine beast fills me with such a rush… I HAVE TO HAVE IT! No… I have to be patient. I get on my hands and knees and crawl to the creature without alerting it and end up getting behind it. I rub its side and startle it… Damn it!

Then… it speaks…

"What are you doing, strange spiked creature?" I get in front of it and bow to it.

"O, gentle pegacorn… Thine name be Sonic… I wish to mount you and ride with you as my noble steed."

"You are a worthy owner… You may…"

I hop on. So warm… the fur is made out of cotton candy… I can't help but nibble it… the pegacorn jumps.

"I'm sorry… if it hurts, I'll stop…"

"No… I like the pain so long as it is from you, my master."

"Please. You don't have to call me 'master'. Sonic will do."

"And I and Lady Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Come… and we will ride together through the clouds, made out of silk and rainbows as we taste the beauty of our lord and master. the Chilidog."

"Onward, Lady Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" I hug her chocolate hair and we ride into the silk clouds. On the way we see little leprechaun Santas giving out golden presents while talking to a bunch of angelic Amy gerbils singing 'It Doesn't Matter' to me while spraying cans of cheese on me. It feels wonderful on my skin I could just scream with joy!

We cross over the land of the digital where there are a bunch of T.V.'s off in the distance. Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of one of the games being played. It's about a rainbow colored kangaroo with super hopping ability and teal sneakers collecting grass shoots while while stomping on the evilness of school and ultimately, trying to stop the evil Ring Lord and collecting the seven Joey Dolls… where have I heard that before…?

Afterwards we cross the world of the other continuities and spin-offs… such an odd place. Oh look, there's me in the Boom Universe and his boy band, Dreamboat Express, playing a duet with the Underground me and the Sonic Underground while the SatAm me and Sally Acorn sing backup, all while Chris Thorndyke and Riders me are doing the Tango on an Extreme Gear while Caliburn and Shahrah watch.

"Hi other me people!"

"Hi, Modern Sonic!"

"Say hi to the me in the Comic Continuities!"

"Which one?!"

"All of them!" We speed past them. They'll know who to talk to.

Next, we come across the Valley of the Breakdance. I get down and start break dancing with the Deadly Six. They know how dance with the best of them, especially Zor surprisingly. I wonder why I ever hated these guys in the first place… then I think back to the Lost Hex, and then I snap their necks one by one and kill them. Such fun. And I got Zeena's number too… Oh well, onward!

After crossing the Bridge of Opposite Danger, we have finally made it… the Land of the Living Chilidogs… they all look like they are having a festival. So warm and greasy… maybe just one bite wouldn't hurt...

I pat Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and tell her to let me down. Then I grab one of the Chili Dogians and he lets me eat him! Such a nice person! AH, and I see the others ones want to satisfy me, so they just all hop right into my mouth like good hot doggies. Even the Master Chili Dog wants to join in the party, so I let him right in. But what's this…? The ground… it shakes. IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!


	15. The Trek Against Time Begins

_**Sorry this took so long, I had to deal with a little thing called high school med-terms, but since they're done I can start focusing on this story more often.**_

* * *

Chapter 15- The Trek Against Time Begins

" _Hmph. Thought you guys would be dead by now…"_

" _Shadow…" Sonic finally says after a long silence._

 _Shadow and us weren't exactly total buddies, but at least we were allies. He would never join with Eggman again, he swore he wouldn't. But what was this we're seeing?!_

" _Shadow, why are you with HIM?!" I said angrily. I almost had a foot in my stomach if Knuckles didn't punch Shadow away._

" _Don't question my choices, Tails…" He seemed to have targeted me specifically as he barreled toward me. It took all Amy, Knuckles, and Sonic had to stop his charge._

" _Leave Tails alone." Sonic stated in an implied 'or else' tone. The rest of us, even Eggman, promptly backed off. That's my buddy: never threaten my well-being if you don't wanna hit his berserk button. I swore I could see a tumbleweed roll by in between them._

" _What are you gonna do about i-" Shadow managed to get out before he gets hit by a Homing Attack in his side. "Oof! Wh-What the…?" He then got circle thrown and driven into the ground head first._

" _I wouldn't test me, Shadow." He relented and let Shadow try to pull himself out of the ground to no avail. Then he turned to Eggman. "You better hope to Chaos you have a backup plan."_

" _Yeah… about that…" Eggman tried to run away but Amy hammer spinned him far away par usual._

 _That's what he gets for trying to hurt us. Now all we had to take care of was Shadow._

" _What should we do, bud?" I said to Sonic. He of course, took the role as the leader of our team. His house, his rules after all. Thankfully the rules were incredibly lax and we all figured out our own ways of living for the most part. The only thing was that the hotdogs, cans of chili, strawberries, and blueberries were HIS. None of us dared cross that line._

" _Knuckles, pull him out of the ground." Knuckles did as he asked and Sonic walked up to Shadow. Shadow was understandably knocked out from lack of air and the impact itself probably got to him._

" _We should take him back and help him." Amy suggested. "I mean we can't just leave him like this."_

" _He might try and kill us again."_

" _Shadow didn't act like himself. He may be suffering for all we know!"_

 _After thinking about it Sonic replied with a simple "okay" and we got Shadow to the base._

* * *

"AMY?! SONIC?! ARE YOU GUYS HERE?!" I holler out. I've been wandering this forest for hours and I can't find them anywhere. It's getting really late too. I'm about ready to give up and rest for the night when I hear Amy's voice. I use my keen sense of hearing to find her.

"Amy, thank goodness I found you guys." I look down and see she's holding Sonic in her arms and I get extremely concerned. "What's the matter with him?"

"I was walking around trying to find you two when I found Sonic upside down in a tree looking beyond out of it. He keeps calling me Lady Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and chewing on my dress."

"C-Come on, fly with me, your highness… let us deliver sunshine and rainbows and chili dogs to the world…"

"See what I mean, Tails?!"

"I do see…" I bend down and take a look at Sonic. The red around his face means he must have ingested something toxic. It doesn't take me too many guesses to figure out what it is.

 _The berries Mephiles was talking about… he really did eat them._

I back away in utter shock and terror. This is getting out of control.

"Tails… are you okay? DID YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG?!"

"Y-Yeah… I think he was poisoned with berries. We have to get him back home, but the plane is too wrecked to fly. We'll have to walk there."

"Are you sure we'll make it back it time to help him?"

"I sure hope so." I start to trudge off out of the forest with Amy carrying Sonic behind me. Just in time for it to get blindingly dark. Greeeeeeaaaat…

It' surprisingly a very quiet night. We haven't run into anything yet and the only sound coming out is the sound of Sonic's heavy breathing and the occasional incoherent outburst. Amy and I don't really talk much if we don't need to.

"Tails…" Amy yawns as she speaks. "I'm getting sleepy. Can we rest for the night…?"

"I'm sorry, Ames but we can't stop. Sonic's getting worse." I'm not wrong. His breathing is getting slower and his incoherent babbling is just gibberish now. We need to get home. Now. Or risk my friend dying of whatever Mephiles did to those things. So, as I tell her to keep pushing on, Sonic is finally able to come to his senses. It's extremely jarring and it comes as a surprise.

"Honey, you're awake!"

"I-I was asleep?" He asks with a hint of confused. I'd be disoriented too if I were him.

"Yeah, for half a day. I was so worried about you!" She gives him a large hug, nearly suffocating him."

"Ames… too tight… again…"

"Sorry." She lets go and we're on our merry way the rest of the night til morning. Though I have a shaky, Mephiles related feeling this isn't the end of those berries' effects.


	16. Face To Face

_**(A.N/ Time to mix things up a little bit. If it was just in Sonic and Tails' perspective all the time, it wouldn't be as interesting. Expect a few more P. from now on from time to time. Don't worry, you'll be able to tell who it is by context clues.)**_

Chapter 16- Face To Face

 _ **Four Months Prior:**_

"Boss, your Egg Mobile is ready for travel!" Cubot yells so loudly in my ear as I make my preparations.

"Yes, yes, I heard you the first 89 times, Cubot! Now shut up before I take your voice chip out for good this time!" I scream at him so he would go away. No such luck.

"Where are we going Doc?! The moon?! Pizza Lover World?! TO PLANET APPLE TREE?!"

"I don't have any idea what that last one even is…" I say annoyed. He really didn't get the hint. Again. Good Chaos, why didn't I stop at Metal Sonic…? "I need to go while the night's still young."

"What about Orbot and Metal Sonic? And me?!"

"Oh, Metal will be going. As for you two…" I shut Orbot and Cubot down so they won't follow and take off with Metal Sonic in tow.

I am so tired, but this is the only time I can go. That blasted Sonic and his friends should be asleep by now if you're wondering why. Urg, that hedgehog's making me lose SLEEP, darn it! Such a quiet night, though. The stars are at least making this a little better. Still a long road to Soleanna. It takes nearly 3 hours to get there and- I hear a rustle in the bushes. Am I being followed? I turn around to meet with the noise's origin.

"Who's there?!"

"..."

"Come out, I know someone's there! I swear to Chaos, if you're following me, blue rat…"

No answer again. If it was Sonic of course I'd already be hearing that smart-ass voice of his, probably taunting me about my exhaustion. Or my weight if he couldn't come up with anything.

 _Easy, Ivo. It's probably nothing. Just the exhaustion getting to you is all._

Uneasy at first but then eventually indifferent, I decide to continue on my quest.

"Doctor, I'm sensing high levels of security at the island's port. It may be advisable to find an alternate route."

"Not to worry Metal. We'll be just fine." I had looked into Soleanna in preparation for my trip. Let's just say the guards are… less than satisfactory. I overheard endless stories from Rat and Co. about how much they hated their trip there and how the guards pestered them with talk of 'who is the captain?' when the challenger was the captain himself, or incidents of them blocking off city streets for the most mundane reasons.

 _Glad I didn't try to follow them there that time._

"If you say so, Master."

I get a better glimpse at the docks. No, they can't be-

All of the guards are lying down on the boats, using the fishing nets as make-shift blankets. Why does the princess even hire these lazy piles of mush?! I have to cover Metal's speaker just to keep him from bursting out with laughter, and I have trouble controlling myself as well. So useless…

I steer the Egg Mobile carefully over them so as to not awaken them and we make our way over the sea to the castle town. There are civilians out, so I must be careful. I decide to cover the Egg Mobile in glass and swim under the city. My next stop if that museum. I heard of some interesting things within the exhibits. An old scepter holding the powers of a demonic god would be perfect to use for world domination.

"Metal, can you see anything out there?" I say as we look inside the museum from an old pipe.

"Negative, Doctor. There are no guards and the lights have been turned off."

"Brace yourself, I'm going to knock out the cameras with an EMP." Metal Sonic does as he's told and the EMP is sent out. Once I'm sure the cameras are off, I sneak in through the pipe.

"Now, where would they put the scepter…? What?" I notice something odd on the directory. Why in the world would the scepter be in an aquarium? No matter. Stupidity aside, I can find it pretty easily. But… what's this…?

 _The Scepter… broken?_

There's that chill again... But I'm pretty sure this chill is... different.


	17. A Slow Start

Chapter 17- A Slow Start

"What, so you're just gonna have me fight Eggman off alone?!"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Knuckles? I called Silver. He should be here to help soon."

Without everyone else present, I quickly realised just how annoying Knuckles can get when he wasn't on his Master Emerald watches. How had he gotten so dependent on others to be around to stay sane? It makes me sick just looking at him.

"Shadow, why are you glaring at me like that?"

"... No reason." The sooner I get out of here the better. I fold my arms and look at the window. Where the hell is Silver already? This isn't exactly the time to laze around and be late. Tails, Sonic, and Amy are missing and with Faker's current condition, my younger acquaintances could be in serious trouble. The moment I find them and bring them back, my next target will be the Doctor. The bastard needs to pay for creating this mess. And I WILL be having the pleasure of doing it alone, no matter the protests sure to come. I'll beat the cure for the serum out of him with my bare hands if I have to.

I finally hear the doorbell and I'm up in an instant to answer it.

"It's about damn time, Silver."

"Whoa, language, Shadow. You needed me to babysit Knuckles for awhile?"

"YOU AREN'T HERE TO BABYSIT ME!" Knuckles cries out.

"You sound like a baby to me." I give him one of my smirks.

"Be quiet, Shadow!" I burst out laughing at that. He growls but that only makes me laugh more.

"Alright, alright, I gotta go…" I wipe a tear from my eye and calm down. "Whew."

"Don't worry, Shadow, I'll make sure Knuckles doesn't break anything."

"I'd appreciate that. Oh, and don't go in my room."

"Why not?"

"Just DON'T Silver."

"Okay, okay, sheesh!"

I walk out the door and start walking to the harbor. I got readings of them being on an entirely different land mass. Ah, damn it… Wait. What are they- Oh, nononononono… I run over to the harbor where they decide it's okay to take my jet ski away. So I haven't pay for my spot in awhile, I thought they were bluffing!

"What are you doing to my jet ski?!"

"We gotta take it off the harbor, Mr. Shadow, you haven't made payments in three months."

"Just let me pay for it now, I have the Rings! I'll go back and get them and-"

"Gotta pay at the office. Sorry, nothin' I can do."

"If I had a Chaos Emerald, I wouldn't even need it…" I mutter under my breath. "Fine. I'll go to the boat impound later."

"Have a nice day!" He then drives off, taking my only means of finding my team with them. I can tell this is going to be a long day.


	18. Night Changes

_**(A/N; This chapter contains a little more Sonamy than normal. Just a friendly warning for those who don't like the couple. ;) Don't worry, it's pretty tame. And no, I don't like 1D if you're wondering from the title. Oh, a a bit of a violence warning.)**_

Chapter 18- Night Changes

I have to wonder why this island is so quiet. It looks pretty wild and full of life, and yet you can hear a pin drop. Weird. Tails is keeping watch while me and Ames are together, trying to get some rest. I coulda swore through that berry-induced haze I heard her say she was tired. Yet, it looks like she's fighting to stay awake. I guess that's my fault. I wouldn't wanna be asleep around someone in my condition either. I tried to assure her I wasn't gonna hurt her, but now, even I'm havin' trouble believing that. Earlier today I had thoughts of ripping Tails' tails from his body and using them to choke the rabbit that we came across during the day's walk. And them use them to play jump rope over Tails' body while he bleeds out. I don't like having thoughts about that. It scares the hell out of me, like eventually I might fulfill one of those terrible images. Eggman has some major explaining to do when we eventually find him. Either he's sick in the head too or he didn't intend for all of this to happen to me. And he better hope that the second option's the case. Or I will have the pleasure of ripping his heart out and- oh, no, I'm having those thoughts again.

I look over to my side and notice Amy staring at me. She doesn't look too scared, like before, but it still makes me disheartened nonetheless.

"Amy? You alright?" I tenderly ask her. She reacts as though she's getting jarred out of her own thoughts, jerking her head back slightly and getting less stiff.

"Yep! Just fine, Sonic!" She's acting too chipper. Whatever she was thinking about, it can't be any good. Can't be any worse than mine, but still.

"Ames… you can tell me what you were thinking about. I won't judge."

"But…"

"Amy…"

"Alright. It's just what if we lose you completely? The stuff inside you is eating at your brain, I can tell. You aren't acting like yourself. Remember that deer from earlier tonight? You were looking at it… strangely. Like you wanted to kill it. You had a scary look in your eyes too…"

I don't even remember looking at a deer like that. What the heck is wrong with me?!

"Sonic, you're shivering." She states worriedly

"Wh-What?" I notice I started trembling. Way to freak her out more. "Oh. Sorry."

"You need help. I don't like seeing your mental health deteriorate like this."

"I know Amy, but what can I do? I feel like control over myself is just slipping away. I don't want to be like this. I keep having thoughts of murdering you guys, and it horrifies me." I feel tears well up. had to happen some time in this conversation. "Please… just don't leave me to deal with this alone. I know you're scared of me but I'm begging you guys… don't-"

"Shh... " She puts a hand on my shoulder like a mother caring for her child. "Don't cry. We would never give up on you. You're our leader and our friend. And my boyfriend, and you know how long I've been waiting for that to happen."

I give a little chuckle at that one. "Yeah. I know."

"There ya go, sweetheart. Can you give me a smile, too?" I oblige and give her the brightest one I can muster. "That's the smile I know and love!"

"You're really cool, y'know?" I lean in for a kiss on the cheek, but Amy grabs me and kisses me on the lips. It feels nice to have a kiss so electric and warming. A couple months ago, I woulda never let Amy kiss me. Oh, how things change with a little bit of time. "Try to get some sleep okay? I know you're tired, I can tell just by lookin' atcha."

"Alright. I trust you" I get a hug before she finally turns in for the night. Figure I should… go to… bed … too…

* * *

 _Darkness._

 _Fire._

 _Blood._

 _Pain._

 _The words of the day as all of these 'innocents' are mowed down by me. They deserve to die. ALL of them do… These pitiful freaks make me sick… begging and pleading for their lives like they have a choice. How dare they beg me… I'm… huh… I don't actually know who I am. Or what I am. Or what day it is or where I am, or if I am alive or not. The point is… I am not to be trifled with… I am a deity… I am death… I am more powerful than even Chaos… I am beyond good and evil… only controllable by my master and only friend..._

 _Sonic…_

 _The screams… I love the ring they make in my ears. They all call this name I have never even heard of. Can't imagine why… Why try to reach your friend, mortals? It is all in vain…_

 _Sonic…_

 _Buildings explode around me… I'm caught in the explosion… so friendly and warm, like a fresh blanket. It doesn't matter what I think, though. I'd have to go through it anyways to get to my fleeing victim. A young mutant fox kit… How sickeningly adorable…_

 _Sonic!_

 _His terrified cries get more frantic as I draw closer to him. Within minutes, he is cornered. I give an evil laugh, knowing my intentions will be fulfilled… I drape my hands over his neck as he makes those cries for a person I know not of._

 _Sonic!_

 _He cries over and over again. He won't stop until I kill him… I whisper into his ear… "There is no more of your supposed friend, Sonic… he is… gone…"_

"SONIC!"

I wake up in a start. There I am on my feet, totally confused. Musta fallen asleep. Then to my utter amazement I see a terrified Tails, trying to pry my fingers off his neck. I let go immediately. Was I choking him?!

"Tails, are you okay?!"

Thankfully he coughs, letting me know he's alive. "Yeah. I'm alright."

"You were sleepwalking. I thought you were awake at first, but when you didn't respond to me calling you, I knew you weren't." Amy's voice startles me.

"I'm so sorry, buddy. I didn't know I was doing that."

"Don't worry about it Sonic." He picks himself up and puts a hand on my shoulder, seemingly trying to calm me in my worried state.

"You were talking in your sleep, too. It sounded like gibberish, so I couldn't understand it." Amy points out.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. What were you dreaming about anyways?"

What WAS I dreaming about? I can't recollect anything about it.

"I don't remember."

"Odd. Usually you'd remember something. Oh, well. We can try and figure it out in the morning."

"Okay, Tails." Pretty relieved I didn't hurt my friend, I lie back in a tree. Let's hope I don't start sleepwalking this time.


	19. Remembrance

Chapter 19- Revelations

The impound lot is easily my least favorite place in the city. Nothing but a bunch of sad sacks trying to beg for their vehicles back so they don't have to pony up any money. Bunch of damn fools.

"Please, all I have are 20 Rings, I can't afford getting my houseboat back!"

"My daughter needs her yacht back, we beg of you!"

"I want mai fishin' boat sos I can fish!"

I silence them with a well-timed shot at the ceiling. They shut up almost instantly, just the way I like it.

"Now that all of you have promptly shut your mouths, where's the line for people who actually have MONEY with them?" I love it when people get out of my way. How nice, they're even letting me into the front of the line. I take that offer gratefully. "I'm here to pay to get my jet ski out of here."

"Let me see… Ah, here we go, Shadow the Hedgehog! That'll be a payment of 1500 Rings."

Not an issue for me, really. We usually make a lot of money saving the city/world so no doubt I have enough. I pay up, which further shocks the moronic other customers.

"Thank you, now just have a seat and we'll have your jet ski out momentarily."

* * *

 _Momentarily, more like after a day._

It. Has been. 6. HOURS. Lady, I don't think you know what momentarily means, I am in a HURRY. It's even almost closing time! I walk up to the counter and pound my hands on it, leaving large dents I sure ain't payin' for. If you couldn't already tell, I am pissed off.

"Alright, where is my jet ski?!"

"Huh?"

"Don't play coy with me. The lady said it'd be here momentarily before she went on break, now WHERE IS MY DAMN JET SKI?!"

"Sir, you'll have to wait until tomorrow so-"

"I am a member of G.U.N. and of Team Sonic, so I can get someone down here to assist me if need be. Especially since I PAID FOR IT ALREADY!"

"Rules are rules sir. You need to pay for tonight, too…"

I decide that they deserve some collateral damage before I leave. I take out my baby, the Shadow Rifle, and leave a couple of gaping holes in the wall and floor. I hope someone breaks in on them and the police treats them the same way.

"Good day ma'am." I turn my back and leave the building before she can say anything.

I need to get home for now, I guess. The fastest way there is the construction sight, so naturally I go that way. Turning on my Air Skates, I start maneuvering through the air. Nothing too dangerous, a couple of cranes here and there. Seems like everyone's clearing out for the night, actually.

"HI MR. SHADOW!"

"What the- Oh, no, not him… I don't have time to waste on stupidity…"

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a very familiar figure. One I never wanted to see again after our last encounter because of his, ahem, lack of intelligence taken up to eleven. A large purple cat that would make Blaze proud to live in another dimension. Also, he's a stalker, so there's that.

After being greeted with a bear hug, I'm showered with speech about his damn frog. Yay.

"Hey, Mr. Shadow, I gotta go back home cause I finished working and Froggy ran away… have you seen Froggy…?"

"No, Big, I haven't seen Froggy. Now, please leave me alone, I have to get home t-" Something with the force of a truck in the back of my head. I don't know what it was, but I'm pretty sure it was one of those cranes… Or was it Monday, I can't tell… always knew Mondays had it out for me... Lots of tiny little people come up to me… I can't see them very well through the blurriness that my eyes have, but I know they wanna give me a big hug… I love hugs…

"Oh, my goodness, Earl, you hit Shadow the Hedgehog!"

"Shadow, are you okay?!"

Heh, heh… they're all echoey… wow, everything's really turning all black… it… tickles…

…

* * *

 _ **Four Months Prior**_

"Shadow, I'm sure Egghead wouldn't be up in the middle of the night, trying to travel of all things."

"You underestimate him, Sonic."

"He does have a point Shadow. You shouldn't lose sleep over the old man, we're over that."

Good Lord, my team is stupid.

I'm trying to convince my teammates to come with me tonight so that we can have ourselves a stakeout against Eggman. We're aware he's making plans to go to Soleanna, but I know it's gonna have to be at night when Mr. 'I need 8 hours of sleep or I'm useless' wouldn't be able to go.

"We can worry about it tomorrow, Shads.. Let's get some sleep so we'll be well rested for the stakeout."

You guys are a bunch of loons. If none of you are going to help, then screw you all, I'm still going.

I wait until everyone is asleep and then sneak out. I decide to peep into the rooms to make sure they're all out and I see some interesting things. Like Amy sleeping with a Sonic picture, or Knuckles sleeping with a punching bag, or Tails sleeping with a test tube in hand or Sonic… sleeping with a teddy bear. After carefully stifling a laugh I get outside and go to the hills. If I'm going to see the Egg Mobile, it'll be from up here. Lo and behold, the Doctor comes up over the horizon, with Metal Sonic in tow apparently. I'd better be careful. It's too late at night to start a brawl with his robot.

I take great pains to not alert the old man, but near the harbor, I manage to rustle some leaves too loudly in the bush I'm hiding in.

"Who's there?!"

 _Damn it._

"..."

"Come out, I know someone's there! I swear to Chaos, if you're following me, blue rat…"

 _Come on, just ignore me..._

Good, he left. Now, to continue my stakeout. Soon, he's going over the water. I'm gonna have to- Oh, my- ignore the urge to laugh, Shadow. Ignore the urge to laugh at the guards. I borrow one of their jet skis and take it out to the castle town. Going on the rooftops to avoid being spotted, I enter the museum through a small window.

"Now, where in the world is Eggman…?

" _Hello, Doctor…"_

"Wh-What is the meaning of this?!"

There he is. I go to hide behind the corner of the hall and catch a glimpse of Eggman talking to a mysterious black figure. What's this?! Why does he look like… ugh… ME?! I should march over there and ask, y'know, if I had half a brain.

So I watch patiently and I catch wind of a conversation they're having.

"Doctor… I require your assistance."

"My assistance? Well, I'm flattered! And what is it you need?"

"I require a vessel for-" I lose my footing and trip and fall on my face. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I did. SHADOW?!"

"Urgh…"

"I KNEW SOMEONE WAS WATCHING ME! METAL SONIC, TAKE CARE OF HIM!"

Next thing I knew, Metal Sonic had thrown me out the window and into the water, which would've been all fine and dandy had I not hit my head on impact. Water quickly fills my lungs as I struggle to both breathe and escape a watery grave. Now I know why Faker's afraid of the stuff. Still not as scary as heights. Did I just say that aloud?

As everything goes black, I take a last breath of air and then… I'm… back in the living room?!

* * *

"Shadow, you're awake!"

"S-Silver…?"

"Yeah. Are you alright? A crane hit you in the head while- Shadow?"

Suddenly it all makes sense… it was that other black hedgehog. It seemed so familiar, looking like the one Silver had tried telling us all about a few years prior.

"Silver, do you remember when you told us about that demon that lives inside of the scepter in the Soleanna museum?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"I think I know what's going on with Sonic. And it ain't a 'serum' like we all first thought. Silver… I think that creature is… inside of him, using him as some kind of vessel, altering his mind and maybe even his body for its benefit. I didn't remember at first because Metal Sonic gave me a concussion, but that night I snuck out to do recon on Eggman, he and that thing were-" I notice that Silver had a look of horror on his face when I mentioned using Faker as a vessel. I give him a serious look. "You know something more about all this, do you?"

"Um…"

"Silver."

"Alright, I'll tell you…" He told me, that's for sure. And I did NOT like what I heard.


	20. The First Real Bout

_**(A/N; I've been reading the reviews and I got some interesting feedback. To clarify concerns, the characters and story are based off the comics and related fanfics I've made in the past. If they seem a little out of character, this is why. As things are about to get more intense, the characterizations will transition to fit in with the tone and their normal personas. Also, you can blame a little of my unfortunately rushed quality lately on my Calculus and English class, among other things in life. So much homework... At the end of this, I will be going back and making edits to make this a little better before moving on. Thanks for the reviews, they really do help. ;) )**_

Chapter 20- The First Real Bout

 _It took little time for Shadow to wake up when we got back. Boy, was he angry._

" _The next time you do that to me, Sonic, I will wring out your neck."_

" _Yeah, yeah. That's the price you pay for working with Eggman." Bad idea saying that, as Shadow pounces on him in an instant, giving him a black eye in the process._

" _How dare you accuse me of that? I told you I'd never work with Eggman again, and I'm still not."_

" _Then why were you trying to attack us with him out there?"_

" _... I don't know what you're talking about." He seemed unsure yet certain at the same time._

" _Huh? What's that in your quills, Shadow?" Amy picked out a microchip from his spines. That must have been why he attacked us and was working with Eggman._

" _So it… wasn't your fault?" Knuckles asked._

" _Ugh…" Shadow was about to leave, but Amy had to ask him something._

" _Hey, Shadow. Y'know, we could use your help with Eggman and so we thought-"_

" _I'm not wasting my time playing Cat and Mouse with the old man. I need to get back to the G.U.N. base before I'm relieved of my duties for going AWOL, anyways." He got up and goes to the door._

" _Oh, at least think about it?"_

 _He turned to us... "I'll consider thinking about it." ...and left._

" _Knew it wouldn't be that easy."_

" _I'm sure he'll think about it, Amy!" I assured her. "Maybe we could call Rouge and tell her to convince him."_

" _If he wants nothing to do with us, then why stop him?" Knuckles stated, prompting Amy to backhand him._

" _Oh, be quiet Knuckles."_

" _You sure she actually likes me. Tails?"_

" _Like I said, of course she does."_

" _Yeah, Knux, no biggie." Sonic told him, holding an icepack to his eye._

" _Butt out, Sonic."_

" _Whatever. I'm gonna go take some ibuprofen for my eye." He said as he left the room._

 _Maybe we should just stay at 4 members instead of 5, I thought. Still though. I had a bad feeling._

There was definitely more sleepwalking from my ailing friend. He didn't try and kill me again, but he looked like he was hunting for something. he did everything from maiming trees to snapping the necks of wild animals and eating them raw, to speaking in tongues. Sadly, I'm scared of my pal, as much as I don't want to admit it. And I know he's hurting too. Some of the things he's attacking is making him more sick. We need to get out of this forest, but I have no idea where to go. Should I tell them we're just walking in circles, or keep it to myself like so many other things lately. I decide against this, but… I'm going to tell them about Mephiles. They need to know, Sonic especially.

Amy and Sonic are both relaxing together again. After the last sleepwalking episode, he doesn't want to sleep anymore. I sigh and nudge his shoulder to get his attention.

"Sonic."

"Hmm? Yeah, Tails…?" His voice sounds hollow and strained. I think I interrupted one of his crying spells. Poor thing must be suffering more and more. I give him a gentle hug to help a little.

"I'm sorry all this had to happen to you. I feel like it's my fault."

"Tails, you know it ain't your fault. Don't feel guilty-"

"You don't get it, Sonic. I know what's really going on."

"What are you-?"

"It's not a serum inside you. It's…" Oh boy… how am I supposed to word this so Sonic will take me seriously? How would you react if someone told you you were being partially possessed by a demon and you didn't believe in them? Well… here goes nothing. "You're… being possessed."

Silence at first, and as I expected, laughter. Great, so he doesn't believe it. Well, at least that's confirmed.

"Sonic, stop laughing, this is serious!" The authority in my voice must have told him I'm not joking.

"How would Eggman be able to possess me? He ain't a ghost, Tails."

"By possession, I mean demonic possession, pal. Eggman injected part of THIS into you." I show him a picture of Mephiles coupled with the picture of the broken scepter just to clarify.

"That guy from the scepter in the Soleanna museum? But-" Suddenly he stops talking and starts

panting and looking strained. Something else must be happening.

"Sonic? Dude?!" I shake his shoulder, but he slaps it right off.

He gets that shade of fur and dark aura from when he went into those trances, only now, the other aspects of his physical body are changing too. Almost as if he's mutating. His body becomes covered in jagged, mangled and broken spikes. His ears fold and his eyes roll back, leaving only whites that glow a deep red. His arms and legs disconnect from his body in a rather bloody and grotesque fashion so terrible, I don't want to explain the details, and they levitate.

You know how Rayman from those Ubisoft-made games looks? Yeah, try Rayman from the darkest pits of Hell, burned with fire, and turned into a creature BARELY resembling a hedgehog on Mobius with sharp, stabby looking quills and an odor that can only be described as flames and death.

A terrible transformation. By the looks of it, incomplete.

"S-Sonic? Are you feeling alright?" I inquire, just to see if he's in there right now. Too bad all I hear from Sonic then is an ear-splitting shriek. The earth rocks from it and I hover to keep from toppling over. Can't say the same for poor Amy, who is awake by now.

"AH! Was that an earthquake?! Since when did-" She gasps. "Tails, what is that thing?!"

" _ **KILL… DEATH… MAIM… DESTROY…!"**_ There we have another shriek.

"A friend, Amy. A friend in need of having the senses knocked back into him. Unfortunately."


	21. We Gotta Move Out NOW

Chapter 21- We Gotta Move Out NOW

"KNUCKLES, GET IN HERE!"

He runs in, looking quite surprised. "What, what's going o- You're awake already?"

"No time for that. Silver, tell him what you just told me."

He gave a long sigh and spoke up.

"Alright, Knuckles. This is going to be hard to hear, but, we may lose Sonic in this whole thing."

"You mean that stuff is going to kill him?!"

"No, no, that's not what I meant, listen." Taking out an old dusty book, he sets it on the table, filling the room with dust. It causes Knuckles to sneeze all over me. Simply disgusting…

"If you ever sneeze on me like that again, Knuckles…"

"Jeez, sorry."

"As I was about to read. Ahem… ' _Mephiles the Dark. The closest thing we have here to the Devil himself in our quaint little reality.'"_

"What's the Devil?"

"Basically, on Earth, some humans have a religion in which the Devil is one of the most despised and evil things imaginable. But back to the actual important matter at hand." I point out. I hope Knuckles can keep quiet so Silver can finish.

" _Mephiles the Dark's pure form, a form made from the shadows themselves, may be inserted inside of a person to control their mind, body, and/or spirit. He may make the person say, think, or do terrible things. May the heavens above help them if the victim is strong-willed. Their battles are always the hardest, as more work and psychological torture is required. If possessed for a prolonged period of time, Mephiles is granted the ability to alter the physical body at will, and then change the person back. Over time, the transformations will become more vile, feral, and grotesque, until the entire person is so corrupted that they convert into a super-dimensional being and are able to combine with Mephiles to form Solaris with aid from the seven Chaos Emeralds, should Iblis ever be vanquished. There is no known cure for this extent of possession, but no cure has been needed as it has never happened before. We will continue our research into the matter for future reference."_

 _-Duke of Soleanna-_

"So that's that thing's game, huh? Make Sonic into a monster. But what's this Solaris thing?"

"Soleanna's Sun God. They worship and fear for its powers of eternal light and destruction. Too bad it's made partly of that... thing… Mephiles is his name, right?"

"That's right. Now listen, guys. We don't have much time to deal with this before the transition is complete. I say we go and find the others quickly. Shadow, here." Silver takes out a glowing object and hands it to me. No mistaking it's a Chaos Emerald.

"Where'd you find that?!" Knuckles asks.

"Well, aren't you an echidna of twenty questions, today?" I say under my breath, bluntly and annoyed.

"If you must know, I was on Angel Island looking for you and I found it by the Master Emerald."

"Alright, then. As long as you didn't touch the Master Emerald, we're all good."

"Knuckles, forget the stupid Emerald, already. This is a serious problem, for crying outloud."

"Okay, okay. Now where do you think the others could…"

Just then we get a static call from one of our communicators. I here Tails on the other end and jump into the couch the old thing is on.

"T….. ….. ls! Come i…. se…."

"Tails, come in. It's Shadow, Tails, come in." What kind of trouble could he be in that would have left him with an uncalibrated communicator? He must be very far away. That more than likely complicates things, doesn't it. I hear him much better as he calibrates it correctly for range.

"Shadow, it's Tails, you and the others need to come immediately! Bring Silver, Blaze, the Chaotix, the Rogues, Rouge, Cream, ANYBODY!"

"Tails, slow down, you sound like a sugar high squirrel. Say that again?" The only response is a blood curdling scream, most likely from Amy by the pitch.

"AMY! I have to go, Shadow, and please hurry or Sonic's gonna-" He gets cut off and that's the end of that."

"What the holy hell was going on, Shadow?" Knuckles asks.

"That's what I'd like to find out too… I'm calling Rouge. Silver, get Blaze, and Knuckles, get the Chaotix and meet me by the docks."

"All of them for this one fight?"

"Did you not hear all that panicking and screaming, you moron?!"

"I ...got nothing on that. I'll go make the calls, but can we leave Charmy out of this? He seems… too young."

"I second that."

"Do what you need to do. And I want no more media coverage getting out of this so tell everyone to keep their mouths shut. We have enough paparazzi trouble as is." I make clear. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Anyone knows where Sonic keeps his security teddy? We'll need it."


	22. Things Go Passing By

_**(I finally was able to type this one out. This one's gonna get a little gory. Not M rating worthy gory, but just so you know.)**_

Chapter 22- Things Go Passing By

 _Such warm flesh puppets surrounding me… I can smell their fear… it fills me with great ecstasy… their screams… beautiful..._

My master appears behind me to give me the command to go…

"Destroy them, my pet… destroy them all… SHOW THEM WHO THEY'RE DEALING WITH!"

"Yes… I will…" I shriek loudly to strike fear into the hearts of my prey. My sight is dim, for all I see is my victim… I see no shape. Only color. A shade of pink. A disgusting pink… I cannot understand what it says. It doesn't matter, though… It won't be around soon enough. I make my approach.

"faeroenekfnlj kvmer sjnzgifoa!"

I do not speak their language. If it is a cry for my sparing of them, it is for naught… I will kill them… With one strike, I sink my teeth into the flesh of the pink mass. So warm… so bloody and delicious. I live for the iron rich crimson liquid. It is all I know how to enjoy feasting on… The mass screams a wonderful scream as I tear her apart, but then I am interrupted by an odd yellow mass striking my head with something fluffy. I roar in pain. How dare this creature attack me?! I am a demon of all things!

"So- fidsjfovnareb ra- eed to sna- ghbinfa- it!"

What… was it saying? What was this thing saying to me? I could almost make it out but- oh, why do I even care?! I am about to go at my prey again when I am struck on my head AGAIN! By the same foolish creature!

"Sonic, plea- fvbnazdfvfnkdafncjsk- my and Tails! You're hur- bvdknasjzgbvenhiwnal- topl!"

Huh? Does this creature know me? It grabs my face and looks directly at me, and what it's saying becomes clearer, along with my vision. It is less blurred, less red and more colorful. The figure… It's…. Tails.

"Buddy, it's us. Please get ahold of yourself, you're killing Amy. This isn't you."

I was… what am I doing?! I look down at myself. I've changed to almost unrecognizable levels, what with my arms and legs being the most shocking part! I've turned into a damned monster!

"Don't listen to him, my pet… you were designed to kill them! Destroy."

 _Destroy… that is my purpose… my way of design…_

"Sonic, ignore Mephiles! You have to get him out of your head like you did when he possessed your mind those times! Fight him so you can return to normal!"

But I want so much to kill the yellow blob. I must- I shake my head in an effort to get a grip on myself and try to tune this guy Mephiles, the one I guess Tails was trying to tell me about, out. Kinda hard with him barking all throughout my brain.

"Kill… death… maim… destroy… kill… death… maim… destroy…"

That mantra. It was so gripping… so entrancing… So beautiful…

 _WAKE UP ALREADY, SONIC!_

Fighting as hard as I can, I manage to get him to stop and get the heck away from me.

"DAMN IT!" He fades away from the area and leaves the three of us alone. Once he's gone, I feel a cool chill run down my body as I return to normal. I can't help but smile. It feels really nice, like a nice cool rush of water on your back.

"Are you feeling okay now, pal."

"Yeah… I think so."

I get a hug from Tails before remembering Amy. We had wandered a ways away from where I hurt her, so I quickly run to where she is. I nearly pass out from the terrible sight. Blood everywhere. Raw meat and fur is just slathered all over the place, and as for Amy herself, I take a look and-

"Dear sweet Lord… Amy!" I go by her side. No breathing. No movement. No reaction to anything I do. "Amy, please tell me you're alright. Please!" I can't get anything out of her. I resort to performing mouth-to-mouth, hoping that the simple act of seeming like I'm kissing her will rouse her. That does nothing, too. This can't be happening. Just as we finally got on good terms with each other..

She's… she's… gone. Tears well up from my eyes as I look over Amy's mutilated body. If ripping out her organs didn't kill her, it must have been the shock. What have I done? Going down by my knees, I just stare at her. Stare at her and silently whisper how much I've always cared about her even before we started dating a few months ago.

I don't scream, and I don't cry. I simply take Amy's body in my arms and gently close her eyes, walking back to Tails.

"Oh, my goodness… Sonic, is she…?" I nod. "Buddy… I'm so sor-"

"You have nothing to apologize for, Tails." With that, we both head off to the nearby shoreline. We need to get home so we can give Amy the proper funeral. She deserves it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a boat coming into the coast. Shadow's boat.

"Sonic, look it's Shadow and the others!"

"Yeah…"

"GUYS!" Knuckles cries out.

"It's about time we got to shore. Isn't it supposed to be a speed boat?"

"Be quiet Rouge." Typical Knuckles and Rouge.

The boat comes up to the mainland and I see some people I haven't seen in a long time. Most everyone is here, Rouge, the Chaotix minus Charmy, Blaze, Silver. It's great to see them. Or at least it would be. If I wasn't a ticking time bomb of destruction and pain.


	23. Life Back at Home

Chapter 23- Life Back at Home

So… Amy's gone. Never thought someone would actually die from all of this, let alone by Sonic's hand. It makes sense, though. Tails tells us Sonic wasn't in control at that point. Well… that still doesn't change the fact about Amy being dead. As I drive us home, I hear murmurs of my fellow team mates.

"Are all of us gonna die?"

"What if he comes after us next?"

"It's the end of life as we know it already."

What the f**k is wrong with this people?! Can't they see Sonic is right behind him? It's obvious he can hear them. He just looks so miserable…

"That's enough out of you guys." I say to them with frustration.

"Whadaya mean, Shadow?" Vector asks.

I point to Sonic to excercise my point. By now, I notice he's nearly devoid of emotion.

"Yeah, so? He's just sitting."

"Vector… why are you being stupid? I know you aren't stupid and are actually a very wise detective. Look at the facts and get it through your THICK skull."

Vector doesn't say a word to that. We get to the harbor and get back to base on the hill. Soon after we're having a funeral for Amy. We all chat and say our little speeches about her. It's actually sickening about how cheery we all seem to be. At least me, Tails, and Knuckles have any respect.

"Is there any other person who wants to speak for Amy? Anybody at all?"

Sonic hadn't spoken out at that point, so a few people try to get him to go up. He's unresponsive to any of their attempts, as I thought.

"Come on, pal, you really should. It could make you fe-"

"What the hell do you know, Tails?! You know what would make me feel better?! Amy being here with me! Comforting me! Telling me it's all gonna be okay! But she's not, OKAY, SHE'S NOT! ...none of you understand..." Sonic gets up and goes inside, slamming the door behind him. I swear I hear glass breaking in there, too.

"What did I say?!"

It's been a few days since the passing of Amy, and things are looking not so good. All of us living in one home for the time being is not working out at all. Though Sonic's coping with the loss, he's distanced himself from us, not coming near us or coming out of his room. He's unstable too, lashing out at anyone who brings up his problems and hallucinating multiple times a day. He seems to be forgetting things as well. Whenever I notice it, his eyes become dull and lifeless and his voice becomes silky and monotone. Yesterday, he barely recognized me when I took him up his breakfast:

 _I knocked at the door. There wasn't any answer so I decided to break the door down out of concern._

" _Sonic, your breakfast is ready. Knuckles made you a particularly large one because you haven't eaten in days." He only stared at me in bewilderment._

" _Wh-What are you… doing in my room? How did you get in my house?"_

" _It's Shadow, Sonic."_

" _Shadow…?" At that moment, the dullness I noticed in his eyes cleared and he immediately recognized me. "Shadow… yeah, I remember? What did Knux make?"_

" _Bacon and eggs?"_

" _Sweet! Gimme, gimme, gimme!"_

This guy's getting worse. That time again. Time to visit him to keep him stable.

I make a few quick knocks at the door and it just… opens.

"Sonic? Are you in here?"

Breathing. The room is alive with breathing. If Sonic's just trying to scare me, at least we know he's getting better. But it's faint breathing. He's not in bed so it isn't sleep.

"Alright, Sonic, if this is a prank, good for you, but it's not funny in the slightest." Out of the corner of my eye, I see his tail shaking on the ground, along with slight trickles of blood. "What the heck?"

"Oh, my goodness…"

There sits Sonic, shaking and looking rather terrified. His right arm is covered in glass from his broken window. We can deal with the window later… out of my own pockets now… yeah I know, karma…

"Sonic? Are you feeling okay?"

"Nothing matters anymore… life is trivial and meaningless…" His fur's getting that old sky blue shade… Oh, not again...


	24. Update

Hey guys! A little update for ya. I've been on hiatus to keep up my grades, but since spring break's coming, I can work on the story more. You can expect a new chapter by late tomorrow. Thanks for being so patient those who are keeping up and I'll see you soon. ;)


	25. Tails Wants Info

Chapter 24- Tails Wants Info

 _It was time for a little rest and relaxation. All of us had been fighting for months with no stop. Just the night before, Eggman unleashed a bunch of mutant animals he injected with toxic waste. The old man is sick. VERY sick. It was disgusting to see the poor things. They weren't even fighting us, they were begging to be put out of their misery. They were the forest animals Sonic and I used to save awhile back, and a lot of them we actually knew. Seeing the little rabbits and pigs that used to help me as my lab assistants or the ones that ran and played with Sonic and Amy, or the ones that playfully kept bugging Knuckles, all of them having to be destroyed… we were all in tears by the battle's end. We had to get away from it all for a while, Sonic decided._

" _He's just toying with us now." Sonic remarked. "You guys know if Eggman got into our heads like that DURING and not at the end of a fight, it would be disastrous for us. I say we go somewhere to unwind. You guys with me?"_

" _YEAH!" Knuckles and I said. Amy couldn't help but keep weeping in her room._

" _She's still crying…" Knuckles said annoyed, to which Sonic got angry at._

" _Shut up, Knuckles! She knew a lot more of those little guys since quite of few of them got shipped in from Little Planet."_

 _Knuckles got a very guilt stricken look. "L-Little Planet?"_

" _YES, YOU INSENSITIVE PRICK!"_

 _To all the 'non-Sonic CD' players out there, this was Amy's home planet. She told Sonic and I many stories of how she used to talk and frolic with all the little baby animals before that tarot card reading where her Sonic obsession came from. Now that they're gone she was devastated._

 _Knuckles, feeling too guilty to show his face at us anymore that night, retreated into his room to pack up._

" _Maybe you should talk to her, buddy." I suggested._

" _Are you kidding? How would I make her feel better?"_

" _Just being there for her would mean the world to her. Just trust me, Sonic."_

 _Sonic gave a light sigh. "Alright. If you say so." Then he went into the room to check on her. "Amy? Are you ok-"_

 _She wrapped her arms around him and cried in his chest. "OH SONIC, WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN?!"_

 _Surprisingly instead of recoiling out of repulsion like he usually did, Sonic comforted her. He softly spoke to her and rubbed her back gently._

" _It's gonna be okay, Amy. There was nothing we could have done."_

" _B-But…"_

" _No more tears, Ames… no need to cry. I'm here for ya… when you're ready, we can talk it out… Talking always makes me feel better when I'm sad, so why wouldn't it work with you?" He smiled at her and wiped the tears from her eyes. Amy was still lightly hiccuping but she calmed down a lot with him in there. I closed the door so they could have their privacy._

 _A few hours later, I went to check up on them. It was a very sweet scene. Both of them had passed out on the bed together. Amy looked content as Sonic was still gently stroking her head in his sleep. I chose to leave them there like that so I wouldn't wake them up, but I did snap a picture for them and made a copy for myself. That point on, I felt something develop with the two of them, but I had to wait and see. I had packing to do first. It was time for a little fun!_

* * *

I need answers. I need them immediately. My best friend is suffering, Amy's dead, Mephiles is still out there, and there's nothing I can do about it. It makes me feel disgusted at myself. So you know what? I'm going straight to Eggman with Knuckles and I'm going to force him to tell me what I want to know. No more Mr. Nice Kit. Time to take action.

"Knuckles, hurry up, we're about to fly to Eggman's base."

"I know, I know. Just getting my Shovel Claws in case we need to dig under somethin'."

"You left them in the X-Tornado."

"WHAT?! Why didn't you-"

"GET IN THE DAMN PLANE ALREADY!"

Knuckles gulps. "O-Okay, Tails." He rather swiftly gets into the back seat of the X-Tornado. Why the X-Tornado and not the regular Tornado? What better to interrogate a psychotic mad scientist than a giant Transformer?

"Prepare for takeoff!"

"Uh, Tails… I haven't buckled-" I start the plane. "-IIIIIIIIIIIINNN"

"Sorry Knuckles!"

Knuckles is able to steadily climb back into his seat. "What the heck, man?!"

"I meant to wait, but I can't."

"Tails…" He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Just relax and try to think about things before you do them. Going crazy and trying to go fast like this isn't going to help Sonic get better quicker. And we can't kill Egghead when we find him like you probably want to either."

"... I know…"

"Just take it slow and drive before you nearly kill me again."

I do what he says and take it slow. I find I can focus much better on things and form a rational plan now that I'm not all fired up. Can't believe I let this get to me.

* * *

Much later we arrive at Eggman's base. He looks like he's done some renovations recently as the door and some of the structures outside look brand new. That's too bad.

"Knuckles, why don't you do the honors?"

"With pleasure." Knuckles smashes the door into pieces with his rock-solid fists. Through the doorway, we find a startled Cubot.

"The door's broken. Looks like we gotta call the repair shop aga-"

Knuckles pins him to the wall.

"Where's Eggman, Cubot?" I ask him.

"I-In his lab…" Knux drops him we move on.

I turn back to Cubot and say, "Thank you for your cooperation," before ditching him in the hall.

The door to the lab is open as I see Eggman chatting with a bear cub he tied up.

"Oh, would you like to see your family again? Well, okay then... " He unveils a curtain, revealing the cub's roboticized parents. The poor baby…

"Hey!"

"What's that?" He turns in his chair to look at us. "You guys aren't dead yet?!"

Knuckles tosses a giant rock at him to silence him. I lock the door and break the key.

"Now then. Let's have a chat." Knux digs a large ditch around Eggman so he can't escape without hurting himself on the fall. He'd have to be desperate to go all Humpty Dumpty on us.

Good ol' Robotnik points a gun at us. "STAY BACK OR I'LL SHOOT!" I fly up to him, land on his chest, and flick the gun away with my tails.

"Y'know, for a second there, I mistook you for a threat… but you're just a dirty little man…" One f my tails wraps around him. "Now quit stalling and TALK."


	26. A New Crew Mate

Chapter 25- A New Crew Mate

No 8 year old should be this terrifying…

The interrogation went on for hours. Every time Tails felt Eggman withheld information from him, he smacked him with his tails. I still don't get how something so fluffy could hurt a grown man so much. It was a little hard to watch, kinda. I spent the long time chatting with Orbot about life.

"How's Egghead been treating ya?"

"Awfully… as usual."

"Why do you even obey that guy? If he treats you terribly, you should break away from him."

"I cannot break programming anymore…"

"Oh, yeah, you aren't Gamma. Well at least consider it."

"Okay, Knuckles. Will do!"

Then it was just a matter of waiting and hearing Eggman suffer. Had to say something after Hour 6:

"Uh, Tails… I think you got all he knows out of him a long time ago."

"Y-Yes… I only know that Mephiles is using Sonic for something and that he granted me a guaranteed victory and money for funding if I did the injection! I know I did a horrid thing that even I shouldn't have done, but it was a moment of human weakness! Please believe me!"

"Your 'human weakness' broke my friend and made him a killer! What kind of monster are you?!"

"He didn't tell me initially what it was for!"

"You still made a deal with the Devil, you idiot! 'I.Q. of 300', my fluffy yellow a-"

I puledl Tails off of him. "Okay, you need to calm down, Tails. Remember what we talked about on the plane…?"

"HE-"

"I know what he did, Tails. You know too. What Eggman did doesn't matter to this anymore. What he's GOING to do…" I shot Eggman a look, "...is more important."

"Wh-What do you want from me…?" Eggman questioned, obviously scared.

"First, you're going to help us deal with Mephiles and fix this any way you can and are gonna like it." I started.

"Y-Yes, of course…"

"Secondly, you're going to give all that funding money Mephiles gave you to charity."

"Alright…"

"After this, you're going to leave us alone for three months. It'll be healing time from this experience and we don't wanna take your crap."

"...Fine…"

"Good. Glad we understand each other."

And that's how we ended up with Eggman in the X-Tornado heading back home with us. It's not as annoying a ride as I thought it was gonna be. It's actually one of the quietest plane rides I've ever taken. Tails doesn't say a word, either thinking about his own actions or just being pissed that we have to take Eggman with us. Eggman's just twiddling his thumbs, not knowing what to do. We didn't let him take anything with him on the trip but the clothes on his back. That had to irritate him to know end.

After a while, Tails says, "We're home…"

I hop out and help the two of them out as well. Out of the corner of my eye I see something in the bushes over Sonic's window. It was a shoe. Shadow's… shoe… oh, this can't be good. I run over to the window to get a better look.

"Knuckles? Something wrong?" The two of them follow me there and we all get a look at Shadow, knocked out and covered in blue spikes all over his body. He's bleeding heavily but is still alive. Who's bright idea was to leave Sonic unsupervised while most of us were out for a bit?! Oh, yeah… mine… "Quick, get him to the infirmary! We ain't losing another!"

I carefully lift Shadow up and carry him to the infirmary next to Tails' lab. He stirs when I get in there.

"Knuckles…?"

"Thank Chaos, you're awake." I start performing basic first aid until Tails comes up.

"I was sleeping…? Weird…"

"Shadow, what happened? Why'd you get this banged up?" Doesn't hurt to confirm the obvious.

"I don't know… why'd you get banged up…?" He says in this odd sing-song voice.

"I didn't ge-" The bump on his head tells all. "Oh… you're concussed… Duh. Great, well how are we gonna get info outta ya?"

He then boops my nose and I know he must be really delirious to be this playful. Far too much so to talk sense to at any rate.

Tails flies in to treat him. "Find out what happened?"

"Nope. He's too concussed to tell me."

"Then I need you to go to Sonic's room and try and get it out of him instead."

"Why me?!"

"Knuckles… now."

"..." I do what he asks and go across the hall to his room. I put an ear to my door and hear Sonic panicking. Must have came to and seen the carnage. I knock at the door. "Sonic? Can I come i-"

"Go away!"

"I can't really do that buddy. I need to talk to-"

"No! You can't come in here! Don't come near me!"

"Sonic, you're being ridiculous. Let me in."

"NO!"

"Sonic…"

"Leave me alone! I-I can't get near anybody anymore…"

Looks like he forgot to lock the door anyways. I open the door and close it behind me. I look at the floor and see Sonic having a meltdown in ball form. The floor is covered in dents and divots from the rolling. I promptly grab him by his face.

"Calm down, man! You need to calm down!"

In his panicked state, he tries to throw me off of him, but I don't let go. In fact, I wrap my arms around him in a sort of tight hug. I feel his heartbeat go a mile a minute and and hear him hyperventilate.

"It's okay, Sonic, it's okay." I run my hand through his quills to relax him. It seems to work. His heartbeat and breathing slow and he can get some oxygen into his brain, which is clearly needed. I relax my grip and go into a proper hug.

He looks at me with almost puppy dog eyes. "Knuckles… please…"

"Not until you relax. Shadow's fine and we can get your room fixed."

"Shadow's okay?!" He perks up right away.

"A bit of a concussion, but just fine."

"Oh, thank goodness…"

I gently sit him down on the bed and plop down next to him.

"Do you have any idea why you went crazy again?"

"...I was lying down on my bed and watching TV and my head felt very light… next thing I know I'm in that meadow place and I start hallucinating a bunch of deaths… They were so real and I felt so depressed and…"

"...Mephiles used that to completely possess you?"

"Yeah. In between the haze, I saw images of me hurting Shadow. I only snapped out of it completely when Rouge came in because she heard… Shadow's… screams… I was hurting the one she loved and that made me cut it out right away… I couldn't make Rouge go through the pain of loss too..." He ends with a sniffle and leans on my head.

"The point is you found a way to fight it. That's a good thing. It means he doesn't have complete control over you yet. We can still stop this."

"... I guess so…"

"We got Eggman on board with us. We made him help and brought him her-"

His pupils dilate and he goes into a fit of rage at that. "EGGMAN'S HERE?!"

I have to grab and shake him a bit. "He's here to help us. To help us not hurt us. Do you understand me?"

"..." He sighs and chills out. "Yeah…"

"Good." I get up to leave. "I'll come back later. I wanna spend time with you. You look like you need a friend." I leave and gently close the door.


	27. The Price of Isolation

Chapter 26- The Price of Isolation

When you're alone… it changes you…

My self-isolation from my friends has further taken a toll on my mind. It started out alright. Didn't have any problems and I actually enjoyed the reassurance and quiet. Then Mephiles thought it would be a great idea to just outright screw with my head more until I snap. He began with forcing me to hear the voices of my friends criticizing and making fun of me. Each time, he made the insults more cruel and disgusting and I don't wanna go into much detail. It got to the point where even when someone came up to give me food or something, it wasn't them I was hearing. It was Mephiles' tauntings. For that reason I nearly murdered Silver when he was coming with chili dogs of all foods.

I don't even know if that was real because of the second thing Mephiles likes doing: cranking up the hallucinations. I have more of those than someone who overdosed on LSD. Awful things…the rest of my friends dying by my hand… me dying alone… me giving into his whim and becoming a mindless puppet… me forgetting everything…

I'm scared… I don't have a lot of control over my own thoughts anymore… anyone who comes in here is guaranteed to get murdered unless with someone… I feel myself going deeper and deeper under his possession everyday… I wonder what that'll be like… letting go completely… letting Mephiles think for me and dictate my actions…

 _ **It'll be wonderful… everything will feel like a dream… nothing will matter but me anymore… you'd just sit back and be at peace…**_

Yeah… that sounds nice…

 _ **Don't you want all that now… To get away from all the hell...?**_

To let go… to be at peace…

 _ **Yes… you want me to take over your mind...**_

I want you to- A knock at the door snaps me out of the trance Mephiles was putting me in. Nice try you demonic freak. Oh, yeah did I mention he likes doing that too?

"Hello?"

"Sonic, it's Knux! Let me in, I brought movies and popcorn!"

I let Knuckles in. With him he brought a bunch of bad movies and bags of microwave popcorn and a couple tubs of… cookie dough ice cream… my favorite… I give a small smile to let him know I'm happy he came and close the door.

"Ya ready to have a good time?" Knuckles asks as he smiles brightly.

"I guess so,"

"Wrong answer!" He gets a playful look and grabs me in a headlock, followed by a noogie. "I know you're ready to play with your old buddy Knuckles."

Meanwhile. I'm laughing like a little kid. It's always fooling around like this that makes me feeling better. Have no idea why. "Get off! S-Stop! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Then say it, Sonic!"

"I-I-I'm ready to play with you!"

At that he eases himself off of me and sighs. "Yeah, you are. Well, I'm here to cheer you up and help you just be yourself." He gets me a couple scoops of ice cream and hands me the bowl and a spoon. "Why doncha dig in before I have to make ya start squealing like a baby again?"

"As if I'd let you." I take the bowl from him and start stuffing my face. "An' tahks b thhe wai!" I yell out to him with my mouth full. I freaking love cookie dough.

"There's a bit of the you we all know it love. Hey, how about after a few movies we go out for a run or something? Stretch out your legs after being cooped up in here for awhile?"

Nodding, I hand him the empty bowl and brace myself for the inevitable brain freeze that comes from eating something cold like a vacuum. "ACK!" _Right on time…_ I think to myself.

"That's what you get from horking it down like that."

"Oh, shut up…"

Knuckles pops in one of the Blu-Ray's and we sit back and watch some real crap. He forced me to watch 'The Last Airbender'. Just… how dare he…? Knuckles decides to hand me more ice cream to drown my sorrows of watching this. Which apparently is Mephiles' cue to pop in my head and trash the party.

 _What do you want this time, Mephiles?_

 _ **You hate this movie, right…?**_

 _Yeah…?_

 _ **I'm simply here to make it more tolerable for you… just relax…**_

 _Huh?_

With that I feel waves of… something… numb out my brain. It didn't affect anything at first, but then everything became funny to me. I could hear myself giggle watching this horrible assault on my nostalgia. Laugh even. I eventually forget what Mephiles was doing as my brain stops censoring itself and laughs at pretty much everything. _Why was I so down on this thing…? This movie's HILARIOUS! … WHY DO THEY HAVE TO DANCE SO MUCH…? …_ Then, I start seeing everything in a light blue tint. _I'm blue, my room's blue, Knuckles is blue… EVERYTHING IS BLUE!_ Eventually I just find myself chuckling at the wall. I don't look at anything else, I'm just laughing at the wall and havin' myself a GOOD OL' TIME! That large green stain the painters left? Priceless...

"Uh, Sonic?"

Not taking my eyes off the wall, I answer back to him. "Yeah, Knuckles, what is it?"

"Are you… okay? You've been laughing at random stuff for two hours now?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine… just… fine…" Then I completely shut off. My senses dull themselves out except for the most basic of sight, hearing, and the echoing in my head from Mephiles.

 _ **Kill… death… maim… destroy… kill… death… maim… destroy…**_

 _Kill… death… maim… destroy…_

The colors… the colors aggravate me… if they weren't disappearing and turning into blackness, I'd rip them apart…

"Nfivbafiewbgishgkbfrdkfabg?" The fading red dot next to me says. I don't care what it says… it doesn't matter now anyways...

"Nvasgnuwobnabfronaerosfnoba?!"

You will be the one I kill first...

* * *

I wake up outside. I look around and notice I'm that monster again… That horrible thing that murdered Amy and nearly did the same to Tails. A friend killer… My arms and legs are no longer levitating from my body like last time. They are covered in a thick, muscular coat and spikes. My fangs are protruding from my mouth, full of a slimy substance leaking out of them. It's not normal spit. It's something toxic. I feel woozy breathing the fumes from it. Course that could be my own breath, but- No, no time for jokes, Sonic. In short… I feel half-way complete… but what would be the result..? I don't wanna know any time soon. I pick myself up as I transform back to my own body. I have to try and remember what I was doing so I could assess the damage.

 _Think Sonic, what were you doing before you blacked out? That's right, I was with- KNUCKLES!_

First thing after I'm normal I look around for Knuckles. He couldn't have fended for himself like that against me, especially when I had no control over my actions.

"KNUCKLES?! ARE YOU HERE?!"

"There you are, you blue bastard…"

I turn around and see a slightly healed Shadow, eyes shooting daggers at me and with his gun raised, no doubt about hurting him earlier.

"Shadow, have you seen Knuckles?! I need to see if he's okay!"

"You're back to normal, then." He blows out hot air and walks up to me. "Come with me… come with me and see what the hell you did." He grabs my arm and drags me to the scene.

We finally get there and… Oh, no…

Knuckles is confirmed dead by the doctor Tails called. Death by being badly poisoned. No doubt from the substance that was in my fangs that was probably venom. We found Rouge near Knuckles too which explains why Shadow is so pissed at me. Blaze tells me she was trying to help him, but… succumbed to death by being ripped to shreds… Last on the death toll is Vector. Vector was unlucky enough to get caught in the fray trying to help the other two get away from me. Everyone looks at me to see my reaction, but… all I have in me is numbness…

That's the perfect word for it. Numb. I can't feel anything. I should just accept my fate as a mindless killer now… why even fight when it will almost always result in someone else's death…?

Tails is why… I still have a grain of hope in my heart for him. Eggman to a lesser extent too. If he values his life he will help Tails with the cure… or I will personally deal with him… no one wants to die to a freakish monster...


	28. The Final Curtain Call

Chapter 27- The Final Curtain Call

 _ **Kill… maim… death… destroy…**_

 _No… I can't… not again…_

 _ **There is no one left… give in…**_

 _I still have Tails… he won't give up on me… he can't…_

 _ **Give IN!**_

" **NO!"** My eyes snap open and I awaken to the familiar chamber. Tails put me in here for good reason…there is no sanctuary with me out of captivity anymore…

After the slaughter of Knuckles, Rouge, and Vector, it just kept going… Now that Mephiles nearly has me completely under his control, he forced me to kill until Tails HAD to stow me away in a cell for everyone's sake. Only he, Eggman, Silver, and the kids are left. Poor Cream and Charmy… they shouldn't be seeing me like this…

He better hurry. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up.

This is one of the few blessings of awareness I have and- I stand corrected… slipping again. See you when I get back.

He's trying to break me again… I think it's working this time. I don't want to hurt my friends, or ANYONE for that matter. I want to be free. To fight crime! I can't let him do this to-

I'm losing so much mental strength. I can't show my weakness. I can't let him drain me!

It's funny… I constantly get the illusion that I have any power left… I have barely any.

Was my sense of freedom I had always cherished… just a lie? Maybe Mephiles had always been inside of me… My crime fighting life was all a hallucination… wasn't it…?

What am I…? What is my purpose…? The reason I'm here…?

I am nothing.

* * *

"I think I finally have a breakthrough! It took so many sleepless weeks and I finally have it! The cure!"

"Great, Eggman, what is it?!"

"This is a darkness extractor. With it we can extract Mephiles from Sonic body and purge him once and for all!"

"Cool! Can you make something to bring people to life TOO?!"

"We haven't started yet, Charmy."

"Aw…"

This is it, guys. The moment we've all been waiting for. Eggman just made the device that can end all this hell. Sonic's gonna be so ecstatic when we fix him, I think we should throw a big party! We can't invite many people, but it's something. Speaking of Sonic, I better check on him. He's gotten really quiet in his cell. I walk up to the door that leads to his basement cell and I go down to visit and tell him the good news.

"Hey, Sonic, it's Tails! We did it buddy, we have the cure!"

"..."

"Sonic?"

"..."

That's weird. He doesn't sleep, so it can't be that. Doesn't hurt to make sure though. I tap on his cell bars to get his attention.

Not even a flinch.

"Sonic, are you okay in there?"

"..."

I know it's probably not a safe idea, but I decide to walk into the cell and check things out.

The door closes automatically behind me… i-it's not supposed to do that… *gulp*

I look at him and see that his eyes are rolled back and his lids are half open. He's out of it again, so I gently shake him. Usually when I wanna bring him out of this for a short time, it works. Boy is THAT gonna bite me in the ass. "Sonic, come on. We're gonna fix you! " A sudden motion of his hand and he's got me grabbed. "What the heck?!"

He turns his head towards me slowly and eerily. When he speaks, his voice is hollow and detached. "A sacrifice…"

"Pal?"

"I have found a sacrifice for Master…"

"Sonic, let go of me!"

" _ **Excellent work, slave."**_

Oh, no… "Mephiles, what have you done to him now?!"

"I relieved him of all of his cares and worries… Sonic is no longer Sonic, but an empty shell. Now, you must be the first to die, Tails…" He turns to the husk that used to be my best friend. "Annihilate him. And make it quick."

"..." He nods and jumps me without warning. I try to get away, but I remember the door is locked. The best thing I can do is try and reason with- I don't know what to call him anymore…

"Dude, get a grip! Please!"

"..." He wraps his fingers around my neck.

"I beg of you, don't kill me! I'm too young to d-" I hear my neck crack and I cannot feel anymore… my body drops to the ground as all sensation escapes me.

* * *

 _Everyone must be killed as the ultimate sacrifice…_

People drop like flies all around me.

 _Master's goals to end space and time will be realised…_

Entire cities fall.

 _No one will stand in our way…_

Nothing left in the aftermath… I have done it… Master will be proud.

"You have done well Sonic."

"I am happy to please you…"

"I love hearing you say that. Now, for the last part of the transition, we need the Chaos Emeralds. You must find 3 of them, as the other 4 were stupidly hidden in both the bases of your former mortal friends and Dr. Eggman… Do that… and you will finally join me in being… a superdimensional being… a god if you will. Together the universe won't stand a chance…"

I go off for my goal, but… a sharp pain in my back…

"Ngh…"

I cannot hear anything besides Mephiles' voice, but I sense a surviving creature. It is an attack! They are trying to stop our reign! I-

"MR. SONIC! PLEASE STOP IT!"

"... Cream…? AGH!"

What is she…doing to me…?

"I'm gonna make you better, Mr. Sonic!"

" _ **You foolish girl… stop this at once!"**_

"Cream… it's too late to help me… run before he makes me kill you too…"

"NO! I want you BETTER!" She keeps firing something at me. All the while I can feel the fogginess clear from my head slowly… did they finally make it?

" _ **ENOUGH!"**_ All of Mephiles' power goes into maintaining his influence on me. I thoughts cloud over and-

"..."

"I'm almost done Mr. Sonic!"

I grab this brat who dares to defy Mephiles and toss her aside. He wants me to kill her but I… strangely can't. A projectile comes from the side and hits me it the forehead. A small blue creature of unknown origin… the rabbit gets away and I am on the ground with a distant feeling. Pain I presume?

The world fades to black as my disappointed Master hovers over me.

" _ **For shame, Sonic… you had so much potential…"**_

"M… Master…"

" _ **No matter… your mentally is of no use to me… You wanted to be free and with your friends? Well, here you go. Your final opportunity before you all and the rest of this known Universe BURNS... "**_

A bright white light gradually engulfs my vision. "Master… please… spare my life… I wish to… rule with you… to be a god… like you…"

" _ **You misunderstand, Sonic. Even if I were to let you live, a mind broken slave is too much of a nuisance to work around… I intended to kill you after you had done away with everyone else and had brought me the Chaos Emeralds, but… looks like that Chao did the job for me."**_

I don't- Cheese, he- A small smile pops up on my face as it dawns on me that just might have been intentional of the little guy.

 _...Thank you, Cheese… you freed me._

My final thoughts before I join up with everyone else.

" _ **If I want those Chaos Emeralds… I'll have to get them myself…"**_


	29. The End Is Fast Approaching

Chapter 28-The End Is Fast Approaching

"Where is everybody…?"

"Chao…" Cheese squeaked. He's sad. I give him a hug to calm him, but I need to calm down too. Mr. Sonic and Mr. Mephiles made home scary and lonely. Everyone passed away… even my mommy and all of my friends. Little Cheese hurt Mr. Sonic to help him be free, so it was only us… I want to cry but I have to be strong for Cheese. It's Mephiles! I have to follow him and stop him!

"Come on, Cheese!"

"CHAAAAAOOOOO!"

"Shh…"

"Chao." He nods and we go follow Mephiles.

I used to be so lonely in this creepy place. All I had to talk to were a bunch of gross ghosts. But one by one, people started coming!

" _Knuckles!"_

" _Amy! What are you doing here?! I thought you were dead!"_

" _... I am dead, Knuckles. Apparently, so are you…"_

" _What?!"_

" _Welcome to the Spirit World, I guess…"_

Yeah, it IS very bittersweet to have company. It means Sonic must have gotten to them too. You see, we all ended up in the Spirit World because we didn't all die of natural causes. We were all sorta-kinda murdered.

We can see anything we want in the outside world. I saw how each of the deaths went on. Espio impaled with his own horn… Shadow getting torn in half… Blaze being forced into burning Silver to death before getting electrocuted… and eventually Charmy getting his stinger ripped off so that he'd die from losing it. I think I saw the Rogues getting plucked and roasted like turkeys at one point. Needless to say a lot of these got hard to watch. And then all those bystanders. Death by neck snap, just like Tails. Only much more bloody.

Right now, we're at a meeting to figure out what to do next while Vector watches over the viewer.

"The only way we're going to fix this giant mess is with the Chaos Emeralds." Shadow suggests.

"How the heck are we going to even get them, Shadow?! We're nearly disconnected from the mortal world and we can't get them from here." Silver shoots back.

"Do YOU have any bright ideas, Silver? You ARE the one who knows the most about Mephiles."

"The last time we beat him, we had the ability to get the Chaos Emeralds and we had Sonic with us. We'd need all three of our Super States and THEN some to beat Mephiles now with our weakened spirit forms."

"What about me and Tails?" Knuckles chimes in. "We have Super Forms too."

"The Chaos Emeralds would need to be enhanced by the Master Emerald and we don't have that beauty either." Rouge replies.

"Rouge is right. Besides we don't truly know the rest of what Mephiles is capable of. For all we know we might not be able to do a thing to him even with your forms." Eggman says.

"This might be a curbstomp battle, then." I say.

"Unfortunately Amy's right. We're beaten. We're all gonna cease to exist along with the rest of the Universe..." Tails sadly says. Poor guy's been depressed since he got here. He was so close to ending this for us all. He's given up. And the rest of us are on the verge of it too when Vector speaks up with an update.

"Guys! Sonic got offed by Cheese!"

"What?!" We all run over to the screen.

"He was about to take out Cream, but Cheese saved her and gave him a mercy kill! He's free!

We all get excited at this news. I might get to see my Blue Bear normal again! Murmurs of what to do next hide the voice that comes from behind us all.

"Aw now don't tell me you're starting this party without me!"

I turn and see Sonic before the others. "SWEETIE!" That voice! That lovely voice! The voice of my OLD Sonic, before this all started. I go running for it.

"Ames!" He comes for me too and we embrace each other. It's been so long since we've really seen each other, and I feel tears on my back. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. I give those tears back too.

"I-I thought I'd never see you again…" Okay, so maybe some of mine are from grief.

"Me too… I'm so sorry… for everything."

"It wasn't your fault. None of our deaths were your fault…" We all smile reassuringly at him and he nods.

"I'm glad you all forgive me. Now if you don't mind… I kinda wanna get up to speed on what that sick bastard's doing."

"Mephiles has five of them now." Knuckles states grimly.

"The other two aren't that far away either. We might just be screwed." Vector says.

"You can't leave Cream out of this. I believe in her."

"She's a little kid with a Chao, Sonic. Be serious."

"You think I'm kidding, Knuckles…?" He says seriously. He's been in full on leader mode since we started all monitoring again. His tone is authoritative and slightly threatening, yet calm.

"... I guess not." Knuckles nods to himself in confirmation and watches the screen with the rest of us.

"She's one of the most O.P. of us for a reason after all." Sonic says under his breath.

All eyes are on Cream now. Here's to hoping she can stall long enough so we can plan some more.

Mephiles sure can walk a long time. I'm getting really sleepy following him. It's near my nap time…

"Chao…"

"I know, Cheese…"

Something's glowing from far away… It's another Chaos Emerald! And Mephiles is getting it!

"We gotta stop him! GO CHEESE!" I throw Cheese at that meanie.

" _ **What in the… GRAAAAAAAHHH!"**_ Cheese hits Mephiles right in the eye. I grab the Chaos Emerald and run. " _ **Get back here GIRL…"**_

I have to hide the Emerald… oh, but where…? THE RIVER! I make my way to the river and try to throw it in, but-

"OWIE!"

" _ **I warned you…"**_ A bright flash goes out through my chest and everything turns dark… I feel tears going down my face as I-

"Cream!" Sonic cries out.

"How could he do that to an innocent child?!" Vector rages.

"THAT MONSTER!" Knuckles yells.

Everyone is in a rage. Mephiles shot this… this beam at Cream. Right over her heart as she was about to toss the Emerald into the water… Then he grabbed it. Then, just our luck, he spots the other Emerald on the other side of the river. He's making his way back to Sonic's body! We don't have much time!

"We need a plan, NOW!" Tails says.

"It's no use coming up with anything, Tails…" Eggman responds, distraught.

"There's nothing we can do but watch the world burn…" Blaze states bluntly.

The initial rage has worn off. Everyone has lost hope.

Almost everyone.

"You're all wrong." Sonic says with his eyes practically flaming.

"We can't do anything. We're ghosts."

"Just because we're incapable physically doesn't mean we're incapable mentally. Silver, remember when you taught me self-hypnosis and meditation to try and get Mephiles to leave me alone?"

"Yeah…?"

"I need you guys to play the music for me…"

"You're gonna try and meditate yourself to Mephiles?! You're crazy." Charmy points out.

"It's a stretch… but it's our only shot. If you can concentrate and project yourself into Solaris' being when it forms, you can destroy it from the inside out!"

"Exactly my point, Tails!"

"So one sees the problem with this plan?! Sonic can't focus like that, he's a scatterbrain!" Eggman yells.

"Only when I don't have to think! Are you guys with me or not, because I'm doing this either way."

"Wait…" Shadow interrupts. "If you destroy Mephiles while not connected to your own spirit, it may become lost. You may be as good as brain dead when this is all over."

We all pause to think. Sonic may be sacrificing himself if he messes it up in the end… we might lose him permanently…

"If it means saving the Universe and making up for all the trouble Mephiles and I caused… then it's a chance I gotta take…"


	30. Wrappin' It Up

Chapter 29- Wrappin' It Up

The earthquakes began almost immediately. The view to the outside real world collapsed in on itself and all we get is the background to the spirit world.

"Where's the viewer?!" Vector says.

"Gone." I reply with no heart. "It's gone."

Then we're all hit with a blindingly bright light as we're transported to the middle of the resulting space-time rift. All of us look up as Mephiles finishes melding with my body to form… this… I don't even know what to call it. It's definitely a god, but not a sun god, like Silver told us he'd be. It has an ashy, twisty version of my royal blue color, with swirls and ripples of other shades of blue mixed in. It looks like the image of Solaris Sil showed us too, but different. The whole where it's eyes should probably be are glowing a deep green. It becomes covered in spikes and I can't help but chuckle under my breath when I see a tan circle form, just like my underbelly.

"Well, what should we call this?"

"I think 'Sonaris' is more like it." I joke. Being around that thing is putting me in a jokey mood more and more for some reason… and it's making my head feel nice and light… yeah...

"No time for jokes, Big Blue. Get meditating so you can stop it!"

"Okie dokie…" A wide grin pops up on my face and I plop down onto my back. The resulting pain that shoots up around me snaps me out of my daze. "OW!"

"Sonic, are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine…"

"What was that about Sonic? Don't you realize this is serious?" Shadow scolds me.

"I know, I know. I just felt a little weird."

"It's the presence of 'Sonaris'. It's making his mental balance go out of whack and is making him lose concentration." Eggman contributes.

"Which means I better get to meditating fast if I wanna get to Mephiles." I sit criss-cross on the ground and try to focus. My mind's wandering and getting foggy from Sonaris' presence again, though, so I can't.

"There's gotta be something we can use to put you under…" Silver thinks out loud. Then we glance at Charmy, who's being unnaturally quiet. Amy turns him around and he's got blue ripples in his eyes from staring up at Sonaris too long. Guess he's sorta hypnotic. Wait…

"Charmy, wake up!" Amy gives Charmy a few light smacks and he's normal like nothing happened.

"I think I found my way in."

When I open my eyes, it feels like it's suddenly night time. The area feels frigid and air is heavy and hard to breathe, smelling vaguely of wet fur and chili dogs with a touch of evil. It's Sonaris, alright.

"Mephiles! Show yourself!"

" _ **... Sonic…"**_

"I'm not here to play games! I'm here to destroy you and stop this crazy crap!"

" _ **I'm here and yet I'm not…"**_

This idiot thinks he can confuse and anger me by in random locations.

" _ **Beating you will be child's play"**_

" _ **You shouldn't have come here Sonic…"**_

" _ **You have been bested already… why fight at all…?"**_

" _ **I will return no matter what you do…"**_

" _ **This is your doing…"**_

It's working.

"Knock it off, Mephiles! It doesn't matter what happened, only what's gonna happen! I AM gonna beat you, and I AM gonna save the Universe! And no two bit demon spawn is going to stop me!"

" _ **You are WRONG…"**_

A heavy wind blows into the darkness… from behind me, I sense a tingling sensation as I feel something be pulled away from me. Oozing out of the shadows comes Mephiles himself, only instead of looking a hell of a lot like Shads… he looks like me.

"Oh, cute, but flattery will get you nowhere with a face like yours."

" _ **I merely wanted to try a new body before I erase your soul from existence."**_

He's officially crossed the line.

Out of frustration I try to grab at him, but my hands go right through him.

"What the?" I try again but the same thing happens.

 _Damn. Forgot I'm not really there. I'm just a projection…_

" _ **It appears I don't have to do anything but wait. You can't harm me. You don't have a physical body with you."**_

Thanks Captain Obvious. Then I get an idea and begin to focus. If I can just absorb them… I know they're here.

" _ **What are you doing you fool?"**_

"Leveling the playing field…" As I hoped, the Chaos Emeralds appear around me; bathing me with their light. As the light from the Emeralds fades, I'm makin' my own light as Super Sonic.

" _ **You still can't touch m-"**_ A thwack in his face tells him otherwise. " _ **AGH!"**_

I rear up to ram into him with a Super Sonic Boost, but being Mephiles he isn't giving up. He sinks down into the shadows and I feel a bit of Chaos Energy leaving my body and going to him. He then pops up in as a monster that looks just plain wrong.

" _ **SINK INTO DARKNESS!"**_ A roar and then a beam of purple energy comes my way. This thing shoots LASERS… With a HUGE BLAST RADIUS! Whelp, this is gonna be Time Eater Part 2.

I barely dodge the laser before Mephiles pops up from behind me and swipes me from behind, swiping me with his large claws in the back.

"NGH!" I'm sent flying forwards before righting my flight path and turning around and going straight for him. "TAKE THIS, YOU BEAST!" I hit the belly and am deflected right off.

"C'mon, guys, we gotta buy Sonic some time!"

Everyone had found the Master Emerald teleported here, as well as some greyed-out Chaos Emeralds scattered around Knuckles is able to use the Master Emerald to restore them, as well as convert them into Super Emeralds. Just what Knuckles and I need to help Shadow and Silver with this.

Shadow goes Super first. "You three, get in a circle around me."

"You can do the energy transference too?"

"It's just something Sonic taught me if we were ever in a jam."

"If only we had the Sol Emeralds…" Blaze says regretfully.

"Don't worry Blaze," Silver reassures, "We'll be fine up there."

Shadow, holding out his hands, transfers the energy to the three of us and makes us go super.

Flickies, as if by magic, pop up next to me and are ready to go to war.

Knuckles, well… he turns pink.

"No one say anything!" Knuckles says as he transforms to keep everyone from making fun of him

Silver's psychic field becomes stronger as he glows a bright yellow.

"LET'S SAVE THE UNIVERSE!" Knuckles yells out. We all have a nice collective sweat drop before the four of us fly up and get in Sonaris' face.

Sonaris actually seems more out of control than anticipated. It starts its attack on us by sporadically shooting meteors at up, which my Flickies intercept.

"What's the matter with it?" Shadow questions.

I keep hitting the supposed weak point, but the monster keeps coming back! What am I supposed to do?!

Mephiles fires off another laser, hitting me right in the back.

"Grr…" My Chaos Energy is building up to dangerous levels from rage alone. I have to let it out sometime. I shift myself into overdrive and in doing so I light the entire area up, forcing Mephiles to pop out. "AHA! My energy build-up makes you reveal yourself!"

" _ **Smart detective work, but it won't do you much good…"**_ His palm lifts up and he charges a large energy blast. As he's about to fire, I take the opportunity to shoot myself at him with a Boost. Mephiles gives a satisfying howl of pain as a turn to face him.

" _ **Good… now let's see you do that two more times…"**_ My extra energy fades away and he sinks back into the shadows, becoming the monster again. Oh joy…

We fly towards him all together.

"Shadow, bombard him with Chaos Spears while Knuckles gets a few shots in!"

"Gladly. Chaos…" A crimson flash of energy appears in his palm. "SPEAR!" The Chaos Spears explode around Sonaris, but it's still too confused to fight back properly.

"Now's my chance!" Using his accelerated gliding speed, Knuckles hits Sonaris in its core.

"WHOA! What's with the earthquake?!"

What the hell is going on out there?!

" _ **RAAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRR!"**_

Sonaris isn't confused anymore… that's not good…

" _ **Perhaps I should destroy your friends on the outside first before we continue our battle…"**_

"Hey! Leave them outta this!"

These creepy eye portal things appear and start shooting more strategically aimed meteor balls.

"Not so fast!" Silver cries as he protects us with his psychokinesis. "Now let's see how YOU like it!" Bam! Fires them right in the core!

"Ooh… I felt that." My pals can take care of themselves. Time to stop worrying and finish this in here!

" _ **Silence, fool!"**_

"HIYAAAAAAAAA!" I hit him right in the stomach and let loose the extra energy inside of me again.

I need to get that last hit in NOW. Before my friends and I run out of Chaos Energy.

"No holding back!"

I'm relentless. I don't stop trying to ram into Mephiles no matter how many times he dodges. One time after another. Mephiles is one fast, cheating bastard… I manage to get another hit in, but it still isn't enough to put him down!

" _ **Ha ha ha ha ha ha! You may have weakened me, but I still will not be vanquished!"**_

"Damn it!" I'm running out of time. If I don't do something I'm gonna change back to normal and I won't be able to do anything! One last ram… I've gotta!

"The core! It's starting to glow!" Knuckles yells.

"One more hit should do it!" Silver says.

I nod and decide to finish this myself. No one objects, so I'm doin' this!

"Time to end this! Flickies assemble!" The Flickies flutter around me and I go straight for the battered core. "THIS IS PAYBACK FOR MY FRIEND, YOU FREAKISH HELL SPAWN!"

"FOR MY PALS! FOR MY REDEMPTION! FOR THE UNIVERSE! I'VE GOTTA FINISH YOU!"

"AND IF YOU EVER COME BACK TO THIS PLACE AGAIN-"

"-YOU'LL HAVE TO ANSWER TO ME!"

I hit dead center-

-and shoot right through.

" _ **ROOOOOOOOOAOAOOORORRRRHHHHHH...:"**_

A blinding light shines where I came through.

"AMY, WAKE SONIC UP NOW!"

"GOT IT! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!"

 _I think it's time for me to split…_

Where's Amy with my wake-up call?!

" _ **Not so fast…"**_ Something grabs onto my leg and begins dragging me down. I'll give ya five guesses who. " _ **If I fade away, I'm taking you with me!"**_

"Let go of me! LET GO OF ME!"

" _ **Say goodbye to your friends… FOREVER!"**_

"NO! LET GO! I AIN'T GOING DOWN LIKE THIS!" Trying as hard as I can I worm my way around to get free, but then he grabs onto my head and pulls me down that way. "AAAAAAAHHH!"

"Amy, hurry up!"

"I'm trying but nothing's happening!"

"Let Charmy try, he's annoying enough…" Knuckles whispers to Shadow, who shoots back with a kick in the abdomen.

"By that logic, you could try too. Let me see if I could help, Amy." Shadow goes up to Sonic and starts pressing on him in certain places.

"Pressure points! That's it!" Vector shouts.

"Hmm." Shadow nods and continues his work.

" _ **This world has strong creatures… If I come back, I'll have to be at the ready…"**_

"YOU AIN'T… COMIN' BACK!" My hand shoots through the shadows. I don't know how, but I've got a burst of strength and I'm gonna put it to use. "I said I wasn't going down like this and I MEANT it!" I get through and make a run for it.

" _ **STOP!"**_

"One more slap should do it." Shadow smacks Sonic in the face.

"Whowhatwhere?!" Sonic wakes up just in time. Off in the distance, Sonaris implodes, taking Mephiles down with it. Suddenly, we're back in our own world, good as new.

"We did it." Espio clarifies.

"OH, SONIC!" Amy's a little bundle of joy, glad to have her boyfriend back to normal. She gives him get trademark death hug, and Sonic, for once, is happy to let her, and actually returns the favor. "That must have been so scary!"

"Aww… it was nothin'. Just glad it's finally over. That was a nightmare."

"I can only imagine."

"C'mon you guys. Let's all go home."

Everyone goes back to their own places and our original team of 5 passes out on the couch together. When we first wake up, Sonic's in the kitchen cooking for us.

"What's all this?" asks Knuckles.

"Just… consider it a thank you." Sonic makes plates for everyone with a wink and then goes outside to the hills to eat.

"I didn't know Sonic could cook."

"Maybe he made some microwave pancakes and instant eggs or something." Knuckles says with a laugh before trying it, then stops and says "Nope. Definitely real." before scarfing the rest down.

"Pig." Shadow remarks as he sits next to him at the table.

The breeze. I can finally enjoy it without being controlled or some crap. It's so beautiful out here.

"Hey, buddy." Tails comes flying with his plate of food.

"Didn't want the others' company?"

"Bingo, brother. And I want to sit and eat with you."

"Sure, Tails." I pat the spot next to me.

We sit and each, talking about some old adventures we had as kids.

"Y'know we used to come to this exact spot over the city all the time?" Tails asks.

"How could I forget?" I smile brightly for what it seems like the first time in years and wrap my arm around Tails' shoulder.

"You sure you're alright after all that?"

"Hey." I say wiping my nose with my finger. "When you're me, nothing keeps ya down for long."


	31. Epilogue

Epilogue

 _The sun was shining bright that day. Great thing, due to the circumstances. The four of us were getting our team pic to make it official._

" _Oh, baby cakes, you look so DASHING in a tuxedo!"_

" _Do I really have to wear this Amy…? It's kinda hot in here. And it isn't our wedding day."_

" _You look cute, sweetie!" Amy said._

 _We all put on formal wear to Amy's delight. I guess she wanted it to be something to remember._

" _Alright!" Vanilla said, acting as our camera person, "On the count of three, smile at the camera! 1… 2… thr-"_

" _Hold it!"_

" _Rouge?" Sonic asked?_

" _You're missing someone." She whistled and Shadow stepped in the room._

" _Told you guys she could convince him." I said._

" _Scoot over already…" Shadow squeezed in between Sonic and me and waited for us to get it over with._

" _What did she say to you anyways?" asked Sonic._

" _You're too young for that kind of crap, hedgehog…"_

" _Okay! 1… 2…"_

 _And then Rouge photo bombed us._

" _3!" Rouge cried as the picture was snapped._

" _What the heck Rouge?!"_

" _YOU RUINED THE PICTURE!"_

" _Move outta the way!"_

 _ **Yelling dies down as everything fades on the botched picture**_

 _ **(A/N: Thank you guys so much for keeping up with the fic and I hoped that you enjoyed it! I've got a bunch more stories coming up and I have the chapter for the next one ready and will have it posted soon! See you guys later! ;) )**_


	32. Announcement

A Quick Author's Annoucement

Hello any peoples who many still be listening out there.

In January, it'll officially be two years since I joined , so I would like to announce that starting in 2018, I'll be working on a remaster of this story, my first one that I ever wrote on this site. Thanks to joining this site, my writing has vastly improved from what I used to churn out, for both fan fiction writing and for school assignments. Fanfic writing has given me another creative outlet and I couldn't be more thankful for being able to both have that and be able to experience some really gripping material in return. Looking back, I can't believe I didn't join this site sooner since I'd been writing stuff in private for years.

I noticed, looking back at this one, that I'm not really a fan of how it turned out. I was my first time really trying something like this, so I had no idea what I was doing. I was bogged down by school work , I started rushing chapters out, everything got unnecessarily angsty, characterization became off, and while I appreciate those who supported the original material, re-reading this kinda drove me a little crazy. The rewrite will keep the same plot overall, but details, characterization, interactions, and everything in general will be improved. For fans of the original, I don't really believe in deleting old stuff, so I'll be keeping the original up for you to enjoy.

Thank you all for taking time out of your day to read. Be seeing ya.


	33. Final Update

Hello once again! This is the last time I shall be posting on this story specifically because, well, I've finally posted the remake of this story, titled 'A Friend In Need Redux. I'm also posting this announcement to make it easier for newcomers to see the original, at least for a little bit.

It's taken me a long time to get the first chapter how I like it, but it's finally completed. For those of you who were willing to wait, thank you for being so patient and I hope you like what's to come. With this announcement, I am putting this story behind me, but will leave it up for people to read and enjoy.

Be seeing ya.


End file.
